A Smiling Angel
by Kuinshii
Summary: There was once a girl named after the sea. With fate turning and twisting her path,she finds herself pulled from the streets into the mansion of the Phantomhive estate.From thieves to servants,she will have to adjust to living a new life and deal with the household.With a smile,she will devote herself to correcting her mistakes, including burying a kleptomaniac past and dead bodies
1. Wandering

Once a wealthy block, but now full of street markets and venders, the cobblestone roads were congested with newspaper-selling boys and beggars. Pick-pockets and cut-purses had their way with anything that had significant monetary value. Very few could make an honest living, and it was only to have their tiny shred of pride spared as they ate whatever food they could buy.

"Oranges! Tasty oranges for you and your children!"

"Flowers. Please buy…"

"Mister, please! I'm hungry and I…"

"What would you like for a snack, Miss Johnson? Here is 5 pence for you to spend."

A merry little girl skipped along, her pastel clothing clashing with the bland hue of the poor district. She stopped to consider buying an apple, which looked delicious on the stands by the grocer, but her eyes darted towards the flower-girl and the plants she had in her hands.

"Mommy, can I buy a flower? It's daddy's birthday today and I want to give him one!"

The elder lady sighed and let go of her daughter's hand, watching as she exchanged with the flower-girl, who thanked the little girl and went off down the road. After all, it was much better to have bread in your pocket than money. She wrapped the shawl around her head of white hair and held her wicker basket of flowers close as she ran down an alley between two shops.

"Well, if it isn't Blood-Eyes!" a cruel voice snickered.

A tall boy appeared before the girl, dressed in a coat too large for him and clothes that haven't been washed in a while. He smiled broadly down at the girl, who gasped and backed off. He snapped his fingers and a group of crummy-looking children entered the alley from the shadows.

"Don't you thinks you owes us a little something? I mean, we's all from the same no-home rundown of a place, and we's been out in the streets longer than you, Merianna. Why don't you be a doll and come buy us a little treat eh?"

The children around him all cried out in unison "Yeah, Cuffs! Show 'er where's her place!", referring to the young man's street-name.

"Ah! So that's your answer huh?!" He yelled.

The girl with the money started running, clambering over a stack of crates and panting as she made away. The rascals all looked at their leader, who smirked and pulled his hat down a little before raising his hands like a dog trainer. He had given her a sufficient head-start. Now the little boys were yelling and running after her, waving their fists angrily as they shoved their way through crates, barrels (BARRELS!), people and strays.

Merianna slipped through corners with eased and dodged people while muttering apologies for crashing into some. She was determined to get away from the little thieves and also distressed from all this panic. A glass bottle flew and landed on the back of her head, causing her to temporarily lose her balance and vision. She had no time before she reached a dead end, angry voices still in the distance. There was a bridge ledge up above, but she was too short to reach it. She looked around for another way.

"Blood-Eyes, Blood-Eyes! Cries so much her eyes go red!"

The voices were getting closer. If only she had a prop…but she wouldn't…she couldn't…One boy skidded to a stop just after seeing her down the lane, crying out to his compatriots. She had no choice then.

She put down her basket of flowers, upside-down and stepped on it. It crunched under her feet and sank, but gave her enough height to reach the top of the ledge. She clambered up and stared at her predators, cursing and-

A rock flung at her nicked her shoulder and with a sharp cry, she fell onto the road on the other side of the ledge. Her body hurt from the fall and as she got up on her knees she heard the heart-breaking noise of the wicker basket being stomped on and broken.

"Go around the corner!" One pre-pubescent voice ordered. "We'll catch her there!"

If it wasn't painful enough, she still had to run. Her foot was hurting badly as she surveyed her surroundings. She ran across the poor and market parts of the town and she was now on the central roads. Carriages and coaches galloped past with no signs of yielding to anything. She would never make it across with her injury. She examined the carriages more closely. They carried people, rich or poor. A bus zoomed along. One farmer had a load of hay and slowly riding along.

Seeing no other opportunity, she limped along the farmer's cart behind it and hoisted herself up. A sudden yank almost choked her as something grabbed the shawl around her shoulders and neck. It was Cuffs, running behind the cart and threatening to pull her off.

"Get off the cart, Merianna!"

She could hardly hear him over the sounds of wheels, horse clops and people but she could tell by the furious expression that he was going to make her injury a lot worse. She quickly undid the knot and she was free of the clothing. Taking the surprise in his face, she proceeded to jam her heel into it. He cried in pain and fell back; causing the horse behind him to rear up before he was going to be trampled. Just as the farmer turned back to see what the commotion was all about, Merianna dove into the midst of the hay, losing the two most essential possessions, but saving her own life.

* * *

Merianna wasn't sure where she was anymore. She had to be quiet and lay low so that the farmer would not notice her, but she wondered if she would be transported to another foreign country and have no way back to England. They were in the country, and trees flanked the sides of the carriage. How long would it take to walk back to the town? And with a bad foot, would she even make it? Hesitatingly, she emerged from the hay and crept to the back to the cart. She slipped out and fell onto the road. She didn't expect her foot to have been that bad, but it was swelling now and was a purplish blue hue. Her head was also hurting from the glass bottle and rocks thrown at her.

She got up and looked around, feeling the emptiness of where her shawl would usually sit on her shoulders. With no way else, she followed the road underneath her feet, back the way she came. She limped painfully, eventually seeing no point but dragging her bad foot around. The trail was gone now, and she found herself stumbling over tree roots, stumps and plants that got in her way. There was a clearing on the other side she was determined to get through, only then would she stop and take a rest.

She silently asked God to guide her and to help her find some solace. Upon reaching the clearing, she found the grass beneath her to be soft and heavenly compared to the rocky ground of the forest. With no energy left, she slumped down, feeling the neatly-trimmed grass on her hands and it felt so relaxing on the grass underneath the sun. There was a large building in the distance. Was she trespassing? It shouldn't be long until she continued her way. She decided to take a quick nap there. Her head throbbed as she laid it down, and the last thought to run through her head was the hope that she did not fall asleep near any fairy rings or fairy grass. No one would notice her there.

* * *

"What should we do?"

"We can't leave her here; she's bleeding, right on the grass too!"

"I don't think Young Master would like it…"

Merianna mumbled and groaned a sign that she was still alive. She peeled open her eyes, although her vision was heavily clouded. She was no longer on the grass, but on a hard wooden table. As she rose up, something damp fell from her head onto her lap. She could only make out a slate grey wall facing her as well as three human figures on the side of the table.

"Are you okay, Miss?"

She rubbed her eyes, "I…can't see…"

She could tell it was the blond-hair person speaking, although she realized she was staring at him too much trying to discern his features. She turned away, feeling the wet cloth that had fallen from her head.

"Yeah, it looked like you got hit in the head pretty hard. It'll be a while before you get your vision back, just don't move too much." A gruff voice diagnosed.

"I…I can't stay here…" Merianna said, remembering her trespassing.

She tried to shift over to get off of the table, but she felt the world spin and her headache got worse.

"Whoa, whoa there!" the female cautioned, bracing her by the shoulders.

She addressed her friends about a 'Sebastian' and a 'Master Ciel' and they huddled together and talked amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Merianna felt a bandage across the length of her head and a split along her foot and leg. They were interrupted when a bell rung annoyingly on the side of the wall. The blue-clad girl excused the three of them, advising Merianna to stay there and wait for them as they left out the door. Guilt-driven heat ran over her. Was she causing trouble for them? They must have been summoned by the Master to tell him about her and how she fell asleep on their property. She was terrified of being punished. She heard stories of people going to court, losing the unfair case and ending up in cells with no light or air.

She was grateful for their medical hospitality, but thought it best to leave. Her eyesight was slowly returning and she could make out the green bag that was her own possession left. Stuffing it back into the inside pocket of her skirt, she slid off the table and adjusted the splint on her leg. It seemed just about okay to walk around with it, as long as she didn't do any heavy work. Before she left the servants' quarters, she took out the change she received from selling flowers and left it on the table for the three people.

She walked out the same door, but went to the right instead. Creeping silently and stopping every few minutes to listen for any sounds, she made her away across the vast hall elaborately decorated with fabrics of every texture and colour. The plush rug seemed to be dirtied by her feet and the furniture beckoned her to try them out. There was a study room connect to the hall that had the exit she was looking for. A glass door led to outside and she hastily made her way towards it.

* * *

"Welcome, Viscount Druitt." The servants greeted politely.

Finnian seated the flamboyant royal in garden patio, who went on talk about how lovely the day was and how nicely the Phantomhive lawn was kept. Ciel, on the other side of the table, sipped his tea quietly. He motioned the viscount to the tray of various sandwiches, biscuits and other treats. Viscount Druitt continued dramatically glazing over the food while stuffing his cheeks with cookies. Beside them, 5 servants awaited any orders. Ciel listened, or rather, stayed quiet to this rambling. Suddenly, Ciel caught something move behind Chamber's head and he moved his head slightly to the right. The servants followed his gaze and to their surprise, saw a poor urchin limping across the lawn.

"Bwaahahahaaha..I think I left…left some fire in the oven!" Bardroy exclaimed, hastily excusing himself.

Sebastian added. "I think I will go help…Excuse us, please."

Viscount Druitt didn't seem to notice them slip away but he finally shut up to gently tap his lips with a handkerchief.

"Now then, I came along by hearing that you were taking care of the royal Queen's roses. Will you show them to me?" He asked.

Ciel Phantomhive expected this and got up, taking his cane with him.

"Of course, this way."

Before the royal could see, Ciel shot an angry look at Meirin and Finny and pointed to the girl trespassing on his property. He directed the viscount to the other side of the garden, away from the problem parts of his house.

Merianna didn't notice when the black-clad butler appeared in front of her, but he surprised her when he suddenly did so. Even faster, he took hold of her arm and twisted it around her back, placing his other hand on the back of her head.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck ri-"

"Hey, wait, Sebastian!" Bardroy interrupted, waving his arms wildly. "She didn't do anything! It's okay, she's with us!"

Sebastian let go and shoved the girl to the ground.

"Did you let her in, Bardroy?" He questioned, eyes narrowed at the foolish man.

"Well, it's just that the poor girl was hurt and bleeding on our…"

This time, a girlish scream echoed in the air from across the property. Sebastian glared suspiciously at Merianna, who sat wide-eyed staring back at him. He immediately picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. It was like she was a sack of potassium-filled nutrient plant rather than a lady to be carried.

"H-Hey! Let me down!" Merianna protested.

The black-clad butler, called Sebastian and the gruff man nodded to each other and headed towards the scream.

"Gone! Gone! Two of them! Goneeeee!" Aleister Chamber wailed.

Ciel scoffed indifferently. The viscount insisted that something or someone had destroyed the meaning of life and the beauty of beauty. Now that two of them were gone, it was a total disaster. The girl Sebastian carried kicked and wriggled around on his shoulder, sounding more scared than angry.

"What is the problem, Viscount?" Sebastian addressed.

"These flowers! Juliette roses of the finest quality! As pink as the pretty robin I danced with that night…!"

Ciel twitched slightly.

"Gone just as swift as the robin into the night!"

Viscount Druitt slouched in front of the empty rosebush, as if grieving over a tombstone.

"Flowers? I have some here." Merianna suddenly said as she produced two roses in her hand.

Sebastian immediately dropped her on the ground. She let out a cry of pain when she landed on the splint of her leg. Ciel's eyes widened with surprise, and then anger. Blood started flowing from the leg again and Merianna couldn't stop the tears of pain, grimacing tightly. Viscount Druitt turned and walked limply to where she lay, squatting close to look at the roses in her hands, and then to her face. Merianna glanced tear-streaked at the royal staring accusingly in front of her.

"Oh how she cries upon the roses! Like pearls dropping from those lakes to adorn that which is already so elegant! Ah~ this is the final part of a masterpiece!"

Merianna held up an arm to cover her cheeks, burning with a flush of being flattered as well as the fire crackling in her leg. She thrust the roses back to him.

"I…I didn't think they belonged to anyone…I'm sorry..." She apologized, gritting her teeth from the pain.

The boy with the eye-patch glared at her. "Those roses cost more than twnty of your lives! How are you expecting to pay me back? Not to mention the blood from y-"

Sebastian immediately covered his mouth with a gloved hand. Viscount Druitt offered a hand to her and pulled a chair for her to sit on, although it didn't help with healing the wound much.

"And what is your name, dear girl? Your clothes and face are so plain, but those tears you cry…ah~ Magnifique!"

Marianna shot an irritated glance at the blond boy and the maid, whom she could see much more clearly now.

"Merianna…sir…spelt like the sea in French." She mumbled.

He politely bowed in front of her and held out his hand. Merianna panicked and searched her pockets. If only she had kept the money she had to pay the man for picking those roses.

"I…I am afraid I have no money…to pay you back…" she whispered shamefully.

The viscount had a puzzled glance as he took the maiden's hand and kissed it.

"Well, Miss Merianna, I have an important appointment to meet. Farewell! "

He bowed to the small count, retrieved his hat from the gardener and was led out by the eldest servant. Once the man had left, all were staring at the poor girl with two rare Juliette roses in her hands.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The boy demanded. "I should report you to the authorities right now."

Sebastian held up a hand.

"Master, maybe you should reconsider. The girl was injured on Phantomhive property…it would be bad publicity…"

"That was your doing, Sebastian!"

Suddenly the blond-haired gardener burst in. "Maybe she could work off the money the rose was worth! We…we could always go with some extra help!"

Merianna stayed quiet, leaving her fate up to the heavens, while she tended to her swollen ankle. She looked away from the boy's heated gaze upon her, feeling as if she was about to get beat badly.

"Fine. But once she's able to walk, I want her out. Let's go, Sebastian. I want to have my tea inside."

"The butler replied with a smug look: "Yes, my lord."

* * *

The blue-clad girl, who introduced herself as Meirin, had Merianna sit down in a chair in the parlour of the house. Bardroy, the gruff-sounding chef, checked the splint, which was broken when Sebastian dropped her so suddenly.

"And that's Tanaka." Finny finished.

He pointed to a small, but old, man peacefully drinking tea on a pillow who gave a friendly 'hohohoh' when Merianna smiled at him.

"So where do you come from? And how did you get here?" He continued.

He brought leftovers from the lunch they had prior, which Merianna ate gratefully. She had to swallow down a mouthful before answering.

"I came from…the town…I don't know the name…I have to live on the streets because my mamma died ten summers ago. I was running away from some thieves and snuck onto a hay cart…leading me here…"

"Hold still, I'll have to change the dressing around your head." The chef added.

"Is…that man…Sebastian…is he a difficult master?" she asked.

The black butler brushed her curiosity and also her annoyance. She hoped she did not have to work under him.

"Oh, Sebastian isn't the master. Ciel Phantomhive is. Here, drink." The maid answered, giving Merianna a cup of water.

Merianna finished drinking and eating, thanking them for their help. Meirin pulled out a few coins from her pocket, asking if they were hers. Merianna replied that it was compensation for their aid, although she was not sure if it was enough. A suddenly rapt at the door interrupted their conversations. Sebastian entered the room and greeted the servants.

"Miss Merianna, the young master would like to speak to you."

She looked back at her new friends, who nodded reassuringly. She got up on her feet and walked slowly to the door.

"This certainly won't do…you'll keep him waiting."

Before she could object, she felt him picking her up again. Although this time she was carried properly. She objected by resisting him and yelling, but he didn't react at all. In a speed unthinkable to man, she arrived at the study she escaped out of before, and was let down onto the floor again.

The young boy was at the desk, quill in hand. Without acknowledging her presence, he addressed her directly.

"Merianna, was it? From now on, you'll work as a Phantomhive servant until you've earned back the Juliettes' rose equal in wages. Board and living will be supported, but I expect you to behave as you are told by anyone and everyone in this household. You will listen to my orders and answer with a 'yes, my lord'. Tasks will be completed in an efficient and quick manner. If you try to run away or betray me in any way…"

He stopped to briefly look at Merianna.

"…You will be dispatched."

Merianna swallowed hard as he looked back down and resumed writing. It was hard enough being lectured by a child who was probably younger than her, but he was intimidating and so direct.

"So," he continued. "What are you able to do?"

She realized she was being addressed and snapped awake, although she needed time to consider her words.

"I can…clean…? I can make tea…"

She blushed fiercely at her own uselessness. Something was behind the boy's chair and she let out a scream when she realized what it was. She covered her face and refused to look at the naked man on the window pane. He had white hair and was panting heavily like a dog.

Ciel only had to close his eyes and say Sebastian's name before he was dispatched. Merianna still held her eyes shut, her face turning deep red.

"What's wrong with you…?" Ciel muttered, disdain in his voice.

She opened her eyes and was relieved that the man was gone, just as Sebastian stepped back into the room.

"Sebastian, show Merianna her duties. I expect them to be finished when I come down to check."

He answered the standard "Yes, my lord." before leading Merianna, hobbling out of the room. Ciel Phantomhive turned back to his work, reading down the national document of Merianna Carolce and at the same time drafting a letter to another company.

"I have to find one way or another to get rid of this street rat…"

* * *

"First day cleaning with a bad foot…and he makes me clean the stairs…that Sebastian…I don't like him at all!" Merianna growled to herself.

She continued adding polish to the rail. She had trouble at first, but laboured on, determined to work her worth. After all, even if she did have to work the whole day, she would get food and a roof over her head. Even if her new 'Master' and the suspicious dark butler were edgy and terrified her, she spent more time with the colourful trio and Tanaka, whom she found an admiring respect for.

Finished with the railing, she set out to the next task. She put away the polish and rags after cleaning them and stowed them away in the storage, picking up a feathery duster and pulling out the crude map Bardroy had drawn for her. The place for her was circled with the appropriate literay….literary…? She couldn't make out the handwriting of the place.

When she opened the double doors to the room, she found it to be a grand library with books adorning the numerous shelves. The windows were large enough to let the light through and illuminated the whole room. Several chairs, tuffets and tables sat waiting to be used and a fireplace was centered in the middle of the far wall.

For a moment, she forgot her station and dropped the duster on the table, drawn into the shelf closest to her. The cover read 'World Atlas' and she opened it. Merianna recognized Italy, various parts of Britain and France as well as maps she couldn't recognize. They had far-fetched names and seemed to be across a large vast ocean. She shelved it accordingly and picked another book to examine. This one contained various hymns and poems. Heart-lightened from the discovery of her now favoured room, she began working.

She hummed a little song to herself as she dusted the tables and lamps, the wooden and satin chairs and fluffed the pillows. She then stoked the fire with more wood and lit it, feeling the heat warm up the whole room.

On the mantelpiece she spotted a picture, beautifully framing a sepia picture inside. In the picture, a younger-looking Tanaka and Bardroy waved at her and Meirin didn't have glasses at all. Finny had wild untamed hair and was about the height of Ciel Phantomhive. Neither Ciel nor Sebastian smiled, not even the faint traces of one, but the picture was lit up with everyone else's.

She wondered how long the other servants have been there, realizing her curiosity and possible rudeness for not asking them about themselves. She stared at the picture even deeper, as if they would come alive and tell her all their secrets in front of the warm fire. The picture was faded from the light, but she greatly admired it. Deep inside herself she believed her master was a kind soul, as the servants smiles were still the same until this day.

The young master was eating dinner quietly. Sebastian served him plates of aromatic food while Merianna, Finny, Meirin and Bardroy stood at bay, as still as decorations on the wall. The quiet air was only disturbed by the clink of metal and porcelain, or Sebastian announcing the name of whatever dish was coming to the table.

Merianna suddenly had an itch in her nose; the beginnings of a sneeze. She tried to suppress it, even shaking her head to try to dispel it. In order to keep the room in a comfortable silence, she muffled her sneeze into her elbow. An angry clash of metal was heard, prompting the room back into silence.

"Can't you do anything, Merianna?" Ciel demanded, a bit forced.

As she was being called, she stepped forward. "I can do what you ask of me, sir- I mean…Master!"

Sebastian smirked at her, a scary reaction. He walked to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a violin. With a toss, he passed it to Merianna, who caught it one-handed around the neck. The bow cam flying afterwards, and she caught it without flinching. The other servants were amazed as they watch Merianna put on a determined face. She put her chin against the body of the violin and dragged the bow across the string, producing a clear and pure note. She slowly pushed it back the other way, her fingers changing the pitch to a sweeter high note.

She stopped after a few notes to tap the tunings of the instruments.

"Ah, so this is how it works."

The trio stifled their laughter and surprise. A hard looked came across Ciel's face as he exploded at her.

"So you don't know how to even play it. You don't have much use here, do you? If you can't do anything, you should just leave!"

Merianna shrunk from the blow of those words and her face grew red. She shoved the violin and bow into Finny's arms and stormed out of the room while everyone was watching. She paced angrily through the mansion with irritating tears stinging her face. Coming down the stairs, she was determined to make her way out of the Phantomhive mansion. Her rage had completely consumed her and she ignored all the pain burning in her leg. It healed a bit after her accidental nap in the library (thankfully it was Meirin who found her), although her back ached.

She opened the door with both hands and stepped into the cool evening air, not even bothering to close it behind her as she continued walking away. She made her way along the path, over the trimmed grass and eventually to the outskirts of the forest. It was then that she sat on a fallen tree and began to cry it all out. She was alone in the forest enough that no one would notice her.

Suddenly, a loud crash jolted her awake from her despair. A huge tree in the background toppled over and fell with a resounding crash. The earthquake that followed sent squirrels angrily squeaking and birds took to the air. A voice was calling Merianna's name so loudly that she had to cover her ears. Whoever had that lung capacity was definitely…Oh it's Finny.

She recognized her friend and his bright hair clambering over the flora of the forest. She replied by calling out to him, although it was a bare whisper compared to his calling. He ran and met her halfway.

"Meriannaaa!" He cried as he hugged her tightly.

She didn't like being hugged that much, and it was hurting her leg, but she allowed it until he released her.

"What are you doing here, Finny? Shouldn't you be back at the estate?" she asked tentively, wiping away the remainder of her tears.

"I was worried about you, you know? Everyone was, but I was the only one free to come and fetch you."

He put a hand on Merianna's shoulder.

"You know that Young Master doesn't mean what he says right? He had a hard time with a Prince earlier today (it's Prince Soma and Agni hehe) and he had to take care of Lady Elizabeth who decide to come over and…well I'm just rambling. Of course you belong with us, we get along so well! Why else would he have let you stay?"

Merianna turned away and buried her face in her hands, mumbling a 'don't look'. She inhaled deeply while Finny waited patiently for her to compose herself.

"Now I feel like a complete idiot. I'm a Phantomhive servant and I just left the house- all my duties and debt…I just ran away…"

Although she had calmed herself, she kept her hands over her eyes to hide how red they were from crying, remembering her titular nickname on the streets.

"Merianna…" Finny whispered.

She slowly opened her hands to look at her friend, who held a bluebird in his hands. It chirped at her in a friendly manner and pecked at the seeds in Finny's palm.

Entranced by the charming creature, she forgot her predicament and burst into laughter and smiles, coddling the little bird. Finny let the bird go when it was getting dark and there were no more seeds for it to eat.

"Cheer up, Merianna. He's nicer than you think! Shall we go back now?"

She nodded in reply, just as a loud sound echoed.

"What was that noise?!" She asked. "A gun…shot?"

Finny exchanged worried glances with her and sung her onto his back, exclaiming how light she was (to her disdain). He started running back to the mansion, leaping over trees, stumps and Merianna had to hold on tightly.

The mansion appeared in view, but there seemed to be nothing wrong. Gunshots were still ringing in the air when Finny burst open the front doors and let Merianna down.

"I'll go help Meirin and Bardroy. Merianna, can you make sure Young Master is okay?"

She nodded affirmatively and headed up the stairs while Finny took off down the hallways.

"Ciel! Ciel! Master Ciel!" she called.

Sounds now came from everywhere, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Still, she decided not to risk it. She opened the first door she came to: an empty bedroom. She opened the one across from it, a bathroom.

"Merianna?" a familiar voice said.

He looked at her as if nothing was wrong, despite the audible gunshots firing. A cracking above them was heard just as Merianna was about to warn him. She looked up and saw the ceiling having cracks and holes erupting on its surface. She called out to him just as she pulled him away from the falling debris.

He protested against her touching him, but just as she was about to lead him down the stairs, something heavy collided with her skill and her body went down. As if adding insult to her head injury, she felt darkness ebb in and passed out on the 4th stair of the staircase.


	2. Closer

Ciel Phantomhive got to his knees before he attempted to do anymore, checking to see if he hurt anything. He was surprised at the sudden reappearance of Merianna, but it proved to be a stroke of bad luck more than a blessing. He was sure his words would've made her leave on her own terms, but that plan failed as she was back here. Her bad leg meant she couldn't escape the breaking ceiling as fast and suffered a hit to the head. As she fell unconscious, she had the luck of knocking over Ciel as well and both of them tumbled down the set of forty-two steps. Sebastian appeared, dropping down from the newly formed hole in the ceiling.

"I thought I saw her coming back..." He said with disgust. "Although it's a shame that blow didn't kill her."

"Sebastian! Where's Lizzy? I thought you were going to keep her safe!" Ciel accused.

The demon butler looked at Ciel, a mixture of impression and uncertainty crossing his face. He muttered a disapproving 'Yes, my lord' and disappeared. Ciel figured he could escape to the servants' quarters under the house, the safest place in his own. It was his cousin that worried him. He heard a sound behind him and whipped his head back.

From the hole in the roof, eight ropes dropped down and able bodies slid down the ropes. As Ciel was about to run, a sharp pain ignited in his leg. An arrow found lodged in his calf. Soon, ten black-clad bandits landed in the mansion, laughing wickedly at the immobile boy.

"Earl Ciel Phantomhive, you are your servants shall be spared…but your belongings…It will all be taken by the _Rouge-Gorges_!"

Ciel had to watch as they quickly drew out bags and spread out, the one that spoke directing them. Two of them headed for him and another two went to the unconscious Merianna. They held him still, holding his arms as the others looted his pockets.

"Blue…diamond…" one mumbled as he took hold of Ciel's hand.

"Let go of me!" He screamed, but no one paid heed.

He saw Merianna twitch, and slowly getting to her feet, although her white hair was being mixed with the blood from her head wound. There was nothing on her to loot, of course, so the bandits did not bother with her.

"Merianna! I command you to get over here and get these thieves off of me!"

Unfortunately, the bandits were now alerted of her (good job, Ciel…). She mumbled something and picked up a metal pipe that broke off when the bandits crashed in. It looked way too heavy for her as she dragged it along the floor with two hands.

"Get her, boys. It shouldn't be long." A deep voice ordered.

The thieves pocketed Ciel's pocketwatch and slipped the ring off his thumb. One bandit threw a knife that nicked Merianna's shoulder, drawing blood. She stopped for a second to wince, but continued walking forward. They engaged at melee at the same time and Merianna swung the pipe in her hands. With a sickening 'thwack' it collided with one's shoulder, and the other's thigh, causing the whole leg to twist the other way.

"This is getting stupid!" the leader snarled as he picked up his crossbow and aimed it at Merianna's head.

He pulled the trigger, but a black blur suddenly intercepted and returned the arrow to its owner, lodging itself in his face. The only one left stared at the butler staring back at him. Sebastian held the knives intimidating in his fingers.

"Sebastian, you're late!" Ciel erupted.

The thief backed away from the boy and started running away, not noticing the direction he was running to. Merianna held a hand out and pulled at the man's clothes, tripping him as she threw him to the ground. With a yelp he tripped and the heavy metal pipe connected to and broke his spine.

Sebastian turned back to his master.

"Dear dear, what I fragile Master I have. Was this girl not good enough at protecting the Young master?" Sebastian said.

He pried the arrow out and took Ciel into his arms, turning towards Merianna with a smug look. It melted away when he saw that Merianna was still pacing towards the tool, not even responding to his insult. Blood from her head was dripping down and mixing with the blood of the bandits on her clothing. He stepped in front of her and looked into her eyes. They were like that of a dead fish's- blank and silent.

"Well, I suppose I shall have to leave the clean-up to you, if you can handle that."

He finished talking just in time to block the swing of the metal pipe against his arm. He took hold of it with his free blocking arm and wrench it away, throwing it to the side. Merianna didn't seem to respond, staring into the distance. Sebastian narrowed his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of her face. She only blinked her eyes and breathed.

"What shall we do with her, Master?" Sebastian questioned.

"We'll leave her here for now. I want these thugs out of here _**now**_, Sebastian! Take me to Elizabeth!"

"Yes, my lord."

Merianna was left standing there as the house shook with sounds of guns and people. The bodies around her were being drowned in their own blood, but she didn't react at all, even when it was pooling around her feet. Even when the sounds died down, she stood silently before finally passing out from blood loss.

* * *

When Merianna heard the birds chirping and the sun streaming from the window, she figured it was time to arise. She kicked the covers off and smoothed her nightgown-that-she-never-owned-before. The room was little, but she liked it that, and the ground was chillingly cold to her feet. However, something struck her as odd, unordinary. She looked at the bed that she climbed out of moments ago and the dresser she had never seen before. She suddenly recalled returning to the Phantomhive mansion, how she got there in the first place and…something dark suddenly hitting her on the head. She pulled at the nightgown, embarrassed to have not noticed it. It was a simple room with concrete walls, a window seemingly peering out at ground level, a dresser, nightstand and a bed.

Something was placed on top of the dresser, a pile of clothes and a familiar green pack. She pulled at the pile of clothes that revealed a dress, apron, headwear and other clothing necessities (ahem, of the undergarment kind) and was excited to put them on. A small piece of paper flew freely to the ground, a drawn picture of Meirin, Tanaka, Bardroy and Finny on it. She smiled and dressed, hiding the pack of her tarot cards in her bodice. On the nightstand, she found the map Bardroy had given her and a key for the room. Finally, she braided up her white hair and closed the door behind her, eager to find her friends.

Her back ached heavily, more than usual. But luckily her foot seemed to have improved greatly, as she was walking around without trouble. She thought it would have taken a month of no walking, but she was no medic.

Merianna finally found the trio at the servants' room, where they had their own breakfast while Tanaka and Sebastian attended to Ciel's morning. They greeted her and asked her how she slept while she grabbed a plate and sat down at the table. She replied and in turn asked them how it went after she left. They all had confused looks.

"Merianna, Finny went to bring you back, don't you remember?" Bardroy explained.

Merianna fuzzily recalled the small bluebird and clinging onto Finny, who was running back to the mansion.

"Oh…yes…I'm sorry, I think I must have hit my head again yesterday. But I am glad to be back now. Thank you for the wonderful clothes."

"Er…Merianna, it wasn't us that gave you those." Meirin replied. "Bardroy moved all the pots and cleaned your room, Finnian got the bed and nightstand from town and I moved my old dresser there for you."

Merianna puzzled over this, but she put her thoughts away when they invited her to eat with them. It wasn't too long before a bell under the label of 'game parlour' rang.

"It's probably for more cookies. After all, Lady Elizabeth is here." Bardroy commented. "Why don't you go, Merianna? You may as well introduce yourself."

Merianna nodded and followed his instructions to get the cookies from the pantry and arranged them on a plate that she carried on a tray. She used the map and found the parlour open. Ciel and a blond-haired girl were sitting opposite to each other, a chess game sitting between them on a table. Sebastian, as always, was by Ciel's side. Merianna subtlety placed the tray on a table near the chessboard and moved the whole table closer, catching a glimpse of the standings.

Ciel's black pieces were everywhere, surrounding the few pieces the petite girl had left. She was deliberating her next move, deep in concentration until she turned her attention to the new servant.

"Oh, hello." She greeted.

Merianna curtsied politely.

"You must be the new servant here. Nice to meet you! I'm Ciel's fiancée, Elizabeth Midford."

Merianna nodded. "Merianna Carolce, at your service, ma'am."

She stepped back to let them resume play. Just as she was about to leave, Elizabeth angrily cried out and slapped the board.

"I don't want to play this stupid game anymore!"

The pieces went flying to the walls and the board fell to the floor as the young lady burst into sobs. Ciel Phantomhive looked like he was about to murder someone. Sebastian saw it as a pinch to step into.

"My Lady, why don't we go for a ride into town? Perhaps a new game will have your interest."

She stopped crying and suddenly burst into excitement again at the idea.

"Ciel?" She asked, implying that she wanted him to accompany him.

He put his face in his hand, remaining silent.

"I'm too busy. Sebastian, why don't _you_ take her?" He suggested in a dark, sarcastic tone.

Sebastian glowered back, but said nothing as he led the young pouting lady out the door. Ciel sighed deeply, frustrated with all he had to deal with.

"Merianna, pick up all the chess pieces, would you? And bring them back over here."

She obeyed and picked the board up from underneath the table, noticing a bandage around her master's leg.

"Ciel, sir, did you hurt your leg?" she fretted.

"Of course, Did you forget about it already?"

She wasn't sure what he meant, and kept quiet. After going around the room and collecting the pieces in her apron, she went back to the board and started arranging the black pieces on Ciel's side, who watched as she put them in order.

"So you know how to play…"He concluded. "Sit, I want to talk to you."

She obeyed again, and kept her eyes down while still putting the white pieces back in play.

"Why did you come back?"

The question caught her off-guard and she struggled to form words in her head.

"I was sure that you were going to leave."

He picked up the black king and fiddled with it between his fingers. Finally, Merianna found the strength to speak.

"I have to be a Phantomhive servant. I realized only after…That's why I came back…I simply have to."

Ciel put the king on the board, in the centre.

"Do you know what it means to be a Phantomhive servant? If this is me, and this is Sebastian…"

He moved the queen forward.

"These are the other high-ranking nobles"

He pushed the bishops forward.

"This being Scotland Yard and the police force."

He advanced the knights.

"-And these are the current Phantomhive servants,"

He pushed the rook to the centre.

"Where do you think you stand?"

Merianna knew what he meant, pushing a single white pawn forward.

"That's right." He said. "You're simply a pawn in this game and…What are you doing?"

Merianna kept pushing the pawn forward, through between the stronger pieces and past the black pawns until she reached the end on the opposite side of the chess board.

"I'll just have to be promoted then." She replied wittily. "But I don't like thinking of it like this."

She took back her white pawn pieced and replaced it on her side while Ciel replaced the back line. With the now cleared centre, she drew out her pack and laid the cards out on the chess board. Ciel looked at her with a quizzical look.

"Children should be playing dolls and storybooks, not chess!" She muttered, clearing her throat.

"In the major Arcana," she continued. "Every card is special, unique, has its own purpose and meaning. When they mix into a team, they make a future and story together."

"Is that so?" Ciel questioned. "Then what am I considered to you?"

She cleaned up the cards until three remained facing him.

"The Tower, The Hierophant and Wheel of Fortune."

"Hm? So what do those mean?" asked Ciel.

Merianna hoped she hadn't needed to explain, but she could tell she held Ciel's interest. She pointed to the first card in front of him, the Tower.

"Strong foundations, but yet it's still made of individual blocks. Take one away and the structure would fall."

"High-ranking, all powerful, keeping everything in order…even emotions."

"And finally…Wheel of Fortune…maybe it was chance that I was drawn here…and fate that I stay."

He gave a scoff. "Is that what they teach you in the streets now? I'd be okay if you ran off back to wherever you came from."

To this, Merianna gave a small laugh. "Sometimes I am reminded by you of this fairy tale I heard as a child. A _bestia_ who is rough and roguish as a bear but has the heart of a _principe _inside."

She stood up and excused herself to continue carrying out her chores. Before she stepped out of the room she heard her master call her name.

"This time, don't forget to close the door when you leave."

* * *

Later that evening, Ciel announced that he was going to Elizabeth's house for a while and told the servants to carefully manage the estate while he was away. Elizabeth and Sebastian returned with new games, but Ciel hastily pushed her into the carriage. Protesting that she had to pack, Ciel waited impatiently in the carriage. Sebastian was repairing the roof at a tremendous speed and efficiency as the rest of the staff was helping to move the suitcases and bags into the carriage.

Sebastian took his place at the head of the carriage. With Tanaka's help, Elizabeth climbed into the carriage and was shuttled off with a crack of the reins. The servants waved them off into the distance.

Bardroy shook off a few ashes from his cigarette.

"The day is still early, how about we go into town for a bit?" He suggested.

Meirin immediately squealed in delight. "I would love to go; we can go and try on skirts and dress, Merianna!"

Tanaka offered a light-hearted laugh as he deflated. Merianna felt uncomfortable about the disappearance of her master, but their enthusiasm filled her up.

"Yeah! We have an extra carriage and horses, and Tanaka knows how to drive it!" Finny exclaimed.

He and Tanaka ran around the house to fetch it. Merianna's ears perked up when she heard a dog barking, looking around for the source.

"Who…is that?" She asked, pointing to a man running towards them on all fours.

She immediately recognized his white hair and dog-like behaviour, but at least this time he was wearing a suit. The man stopped at where she was and started sniffing her.

"Oh…we should have told you earlier!" Meirin said. "This is Pluto…he's…a devil dog. I hope you don't mind."

Pluto was sniffing at her heels until she let a hand down for him to smell it as well. Although he looked like a man, his behaviour was dog-like, even the vocalisations. She patted his mangled hair, its colour resembling her own. A few moments passed before Tanaka was seen driving the carriage down the road. He stopped it in front of them and they got it.

Merianna was excited; she had never been in a carriage before and was glad to have her first ride with her friends. She sat beside Finny and peered out the window. Bardroy, in front of her, rapped his knuckles against the side of the carriage and it suddenly jolted forward. Merianna was not used to it and almost fell onto Bardroy before she could balance herself. They chuckled light-heartedly at her surprise. She enjoyed the ride, watching as they passed by numerous trees, along the path and over bridges as they entered the more urban areas. Buildings took the places of trees and soon she saw buses and other coaches.

For the first time, Merianna watched as other gave way as she passed by. She recognized various places, where she used to sell flowers. Although it was only a couple days ago that her fate changed, she felt a sense of nostalgia, almost home-sickness. If she ever wanted to return to her old life, all she had to do was get of the carriage.

"Where are we going to first?" She asked.

"Well, we have to buy more flour and sugar. I think blueberries are in season now." Bardroy recalled. "Finny broke the pitchfork for hay and a couple other tools. Don't worry, Snowy, we'll still have fun."

She smiled at the new nickname given to her; it made her feel closer and a proud sense of belonging. She spotted the bakery just as Tanaka stopped in front of it. They got off and Bardroy addressed the driver.

"Thanks, Tanaka. You can park the carriage and take a rest. We're going to go eat afterwards, so you can go do your things."

He replied with his laugh and drove off. They faced the bakery and large loaves of bread of all types, colours and length were displayed in the front. They stepped inside and Merianna stayed quiet and passive as Bardroy picked some loaves, weighing them and even crunching them. When he was finally satisfied with three long baguettes, Meirin drew out her purse and paid, slipping it back into the pocket of her aprong. They broke the long pieces in halves and put it into the paper bag, which Finny held.

"Would you like me to carry it?" Merianna asked courteously.

He blushed and thanked her, but refused her help. It was a busy day and people were bustling around. Merianna hooked her arm around Meirin's so they wouldn't get lost, following Bardroy and Finny. The former motioned to a street on the left and they followed. It was less crowded here and they regrouped.

"Have you been here, Meri?" Finny asked.

Merianna shrunk; apparently they hadn't noticed how well she manoeuvred around the people and recognized so much.

"How about Finny and me go looking for the tools while your girls go look for your dresses and what not? We'll meet by the Pocketwatch Pub afterwards in…two hours?" Bardroy suggested.

Meirin checked her watch and nodded. She reached into her apron, and then the pockets of her skirt. She even took off her boot and shook it upside down.

"What's wrong?" Finny asked, noticing the sweat on her face.

"Gone! It's gone! The money!" She panicked. "Was it stolen?"

Bardroy calmed the two who were freaking out and wailing. Merianna felt like she should speak up.

"We should…! We should split up and try to find whoever took it! We'll cover more ground that way!"

"Good idea, Snowy!" Bardroy commended.

He dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. "No one steals from the Phantomhive servants! We'll regroup here in thirty minutes!"

The servants gave a resounding cheer as they split up. Two headed back to where the bakery was, Finny taking another route. Merianna chose to slip away into the busy street. She dodged people as she always did. Her old street-name was 'Ghost-Walker' before that incident after all.

She kept going until she reached the poorer district of the town. The cobblestones giving way to muddy pathways and the neatly kept shops and buildings turned into ruddy shacks and tattered ruts. She casually asked a passer-by the time, setting a limit of ten minutes before she had to disappear from the district. There was an old board lying inconspicuously on the ground in a small alleyway, and old boot sat atop to further deter any interest. She lighted the boot and placed it to the side before lifting up the old panel. There was the secret entrance to the thieves' hideout. They crused out the concrete beneath and into the underground basement of the abandoned building that used to be a butcher's. She crept down, preparing for the challenges awaiting. First was their dog, Stikes, but he would recognize her scent and allow her entrance. As she expected, the chestnut and white bulldog came trotting down from nowhere and sniffed her before losing interest and disappearing again.

A drunken man turned on the patched couch, grumbling "Ay, who 'sit?".

Merianna replied. "Oliva, sirrah! Just droppin' a 'ankachief on the table."

The man grunted without opening his eyes and Merianna proceeded on. She proceeded until she reached the centre of the hideout. It was musty and cold. As quickly as she could, she sifted thought the stolen belongings. Handkerchiefs, pocketwatches, knapsacks and even a suitcase, until she spotted Meirin's pouch. Usually the man was supposed to guard the treasures while the boys were out, but security has gotten lazy and he was used to being drunk off the gin. She took off her maid cap to wrap around the pouch to muffle the sound and disguise it. She crept back to the front and lifted the board again, tossed the bag up and hoisted herself up. Knowing that she must have past her time limit, she replaced the boot on top of the board and ran the way she came from, hoping that it was the last time she would have to return to that hideout.

* * *

"Thank goodness, Merianna! We thought something happened to you!" Meirin cried.

She seemed out of breath and unwrapped something from her head covering. It was the pouch, which she handed to Meirin.

"Merianna! Where did you find this?" Bardroy asked, amazed.

Meirin counted the money, almost half was stolen but it was better than everything.

"I…I found it…near a sleeping man." Merianna mumbled, leaving out select information.

"Did you clobber the bastard?"

She laughed and shook her head, and let Bardroy pat it, muttering 'good job'.

Meirin checked her watch. "I don't think the stores are open anymore…It took longer than expected, but we have some of our money back."

"So let's celebrate!" Finny jumped in. "It's not much, but it'll be Meri's welcoming party!"

Bardroy cheered and led them down the streets. Merianna was growing increasingly anxious as she recognized more and more familiar places, but she did not want to ruin their merry moods. Finally, she felt like she _had _to ask.

"Where are we going?"

"I heard this great and cheap place from a friend once and though we'd celebrate there. Called Ruth and Beer, heard of it? I'm pretty sure we're all allowed drinks there, women and underage!"

Merianna tried to suppress her worry. How many would recognize her and her white hair? She melded into the middle of her party as they entered. She recognized the tavern and scanned her surroundings. As normal, there was the musician at the piano, slamming another composition he created the night before the missing link between noise and music. The owner and his son were tending to the customers. Bardroy led them to a table and they sat down.

The owner's son came over and introduced himself as their waiter.

"Hey, Merianna, you can drink right? How about a beer?"

The owner's son looked upon her with narrowed eyes, eyes that couldn't meet. She shook her head at the offer. He shrugged and asked the others, although only Meirin took up the offer. He nodded and gave them their menus. His eyes were still on Merianna, but both of them knew he would stay silent. She saw the same people there, rowdy men who claimed to have been pirates, yet could not read a map. There were the Strauss couple who were addicted to gambling away all their money. At the table to the side of her, close to the wall and dart board (which was illegal), there was a group of people around her age talking in hushed voiced and sipping various beverages. She quickly turned when she caught the face of one who lifted the mug to his lips. Cuffs.

She shrank in her seat and participated very little in the conversations. Finally, they all ordered fish and chips, the standard meal. A million escape plans were forming in her mind just as the owner himself delivered their food. He also narrowed his eyes at Merianna. Although that particular bar had a 'bond' with the neighbouring thief gang, it wasn't out of place suspicion. She took a look beside her at her old friends. They were playing a game of cards, slamming them down viciously.

"What's wrong, Merianna?" Finny whispered.

The others had already started eating, but she was so distracted that her plate was still full.

"Don't you have the feeling we stand out a little too much?"

He looked around as she took up the knife and fork in her hands and shrugged at her. The owner came back with two mugs filled to the top with beer, placing it in front of Meirin and Bardroy. A different mug was placed in front of Merianna, no doubt a different beverage.

"What? I didn't order this!" She protested.

"It's from a gentleman from over there." The owner replied.

He pointed to no one, but Merianna understood.

"It looks like Snowy's gonna be joining us today!" Bardroy exclaimed.

She glared at the card table from over her shoulder, and she could tell as well that Cuffs, Briar-Red, Swallow-Cuts and a couple others of the boys were watching her from their peripheral visions. Cuffs was discreetly playing with a similar mug in his hands.

"I'll drink it." She announced, loud enough for the other table to hear.

She picked it up and put it against her lips. It was gin, but mixed with apple juice, the standard alcoholic beverage to the standard meal. It burned going down her throat, and she had to stop midway to catch her breath. Something brushed against her lip and when she finished she slammed down the mug on the table. She completed her challenge.

"Way to chug that down!" Meirin shouted. "Do you want another?"

Merianna immediately held her hands up to say no. She peered into the mug and pulled out a piece of wire with a loop in it. The three others looked at it in surprise.

"Probably part of the vat when they filled up the mug. Must have fallen in." Bardroy explained.

Merianna knew what it was. It was a reminder of her days as the Ghost-Walker along with several other street names. She distracted her friends by conversation and slipped the wire into her boot. With an ample amount of alcohol in her, Merianna felt no reason anymore to hide her identity and joined into the conversations. She found out how Finny used to be subject to experimentation, that Bardroy used to fight in wars, hence his leadership skills and most surprising of all, that Meirin used to be a sharpshooter. They were all freed from their pasts when Sebastian took them in and now they served the estate. The food slowly disappeared as time went on. Merianna excused herself to go get some fresh air. She was never that good with alcohol, mixed or not.

The outside air was cooler and she felt nice to sit outside, leaning against the bricks of the pub. A voice called her name.

"I won…didn't I? I finished it…!" She mumbled waving her hand around.

"Merianna? It's me, Finny."

She looked up to meet his eyes, and he squatted down beside her, asking how she felt.

"I'll be fine. Just a bit sick."

They stayed like that for a while, watching the world go by. Bardroy popped out momentarily to tell the two that after a few more drinks he would pay and they would go. A slurry of thoughts ran though Merianna's head, and she wasn't sure which ones should be vocalized or which should be kept secret. In order to keep her mouth shut, she had to have Finny talk.

"So…where did Pluto come from…? I like dogs…"

"Err…Houndsworth. A beautiful woman there called Angela used to keep him secretly…She was kind to us when we went and after we helped her free from her abusive master well…she asked us to take him with us." He said as he scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "In fact, she had white hair too!"

"My white hair…comes from my mamma. It must be a disease or something, because she died a long time ago and the doctors couldn't tell me why…"

"…I think it's pretty…It's the colour of-"

"I never knew…that everyone was so special." Merianna cut him off "…Makes me feel left out…and scared you'll rip me apart if I annoy you"

Finny laughed, but not in a rude way. "Merianna, of course you're special, at least in my eyes you are... I would never hurt you!"

"You know…I think that you break things because you love them too much….All that love overflows out into everything you do. I think that's a nice, heart-warming trait in someone…so open with their feelings…If I ever try to run away again, please use your super strength and drag me back to the Phantomhive mansion…!"

"What if I pull too hard and I accidentally break you?" He whined, although a blush formed on his face from the compliment.

Merianna laughed. "Well, you're a gardener no? If you plant me into the ground and give me a smile as warm as the sun, I'll surely come back!"


	3. In The Heart

Meirin was not present in the servants' dining hall the next morning. She drank to and beyond her limit. By early afternoon she still hadn't gotten up, so Bardroy kindly asked Merianna to go check up on her. She knocked on the door and announced her intentions before opening the door.

"Oh heavens!" She exclaimed in fright.

Meirin was slumped back, half of her was on the floor and the other still partly on the bed. She was still in her outing clothes and her glasses hung dramatically across her head.

"Meirin! Meirin! You've drunk too much…!" She fretted.

She took off Meirin's glasses and placed them onto the nightstand before lifting her limp but breathing body onto the bed. Slightly panicking, she waved her hand over Meirin's face, fanning air to her. She had absolutely no medical knowledge despite the fact that Meirin was still warm to the touch and thus, alive. She took her her friend and called out her name., but there was only a muttering reply. Merianna marched out of the room and into the kitchen to look for any help. Tanaka sat on a pillow there and Merianna kneeled in front of him.

"Tanaka, sir! Meirin is sick and I don't know what to do!"

Tanaka replied with a "Hohohoh".

"That's it! Maybe some tea will make her feel better!"

She rushed to the stove, stocking wood in it and lighting it up. She fetched water for the kettle and waited for it to boil. She heard shuffling coming from Meirin's room and waited until Meirin emerged, groggy and groaning.

"Meirin! How are you feeling?"

She put a hand on her head and slinked into the dining chair. "Just a hangover." She muttered in reply.

She started eating the breakfast Bardroy had cooked and thanked Merianna as she set a cup of tea.

"Shall I help you with your chores? You should rest for today."

Meirin shook her head. "Maybe just…well I shouldn't but…I would appreciate your help. We can do them together."

Merianna left Meirin to finish her breakfast and set onto the main part of the building. She decided to take care of the uppermost floors, leaving the more accessible ones to Meirin. She took the dustpan, broom and a couple of rags from the cabinet and headed upstairs. She opened up the first room: a guest room. She went inside and check everything, but it was all cleaned. Not a speck of dust. Frustrated, she went to the next room, but it was also clean. The bathrooms didn't need any wiping or cleaning at all. Finally, she gave up and returned downstairs. As she put the items back into the cleaning closet, she heard something barking madly. It was Pluto and he was barking at something behind the stairs.

"Pluto!" She called.

He was scratching the wood before she could see what was wrong. A small ball of brown and white fur disappeared inside the cabinet under the stairs. Pluto tried to squeeze between her and the cabinet, but she pushed him aside and went inside. Furious barking erupted, making Merianna jump.

"Stikes!" She cried, recognizing the lovable pup.

He was backing up and growling menacingly at Pluto. He suddenly ran between her legs and out to Pluto. Merianna called the dog, afraid that they would hurt each other. The cabinet was so small she had difficulty backing out. Once she did, she found Pluto and Stikes playing together and she sighed, defeated.

"Is that your dog, Merianna?!" Meirin cried, suddenly appearing.

Merianna shook her head. "I know him from the streets…" Another white lie. "I checked the floors upstairs, they didn't need anymore cleaning." She reported.

Meirin nodded. "Can you help me with laundry? We have to hang it outside in the sun."

She produced a large basket of white fabric and led her outside. There were lines in the backyard to hang the bed sheets from, and they got straight to work. Merianna asked her how her hang-over was, and receive an optimistic reply.

* * *

Stikes the dog roamed around the mansion. Everything smelt so different from the streets he came from, not that the scents were all pleasant. They were strong-smelling, and some thing had no scent at all. The work of humans always puzzled him. Some things they wanted to smell so strong it would knock him out and some they washed so much the smell was completely drowned out. He sniffed the floor to find his own scent. He trailed it for the way back out, walking out an opening in the house and seeing the cloudy sky above hims again. He wasn't sure what his human friends wanted, but the piece of meat they threw over the fence had the girl's scent on it. The familiar girl from back then. Now he just wanted to go back home. He followed the scent of the city and his paws until he reached the bushes. He had squeezed under them when the humans threw the meat over. The smell of meat still lingered, even if the meat itself did not.

The humans on the other side called his name and praised him eagerly as he squeezed back out. The largest looked him over, as if checking whether or not he was bitten. He rolled over and let the boys rub his belly.

"So what does this mean? That he came back alive." One said.

"It means…that she's still there."

* * *

"Meirin, yesterday…were all the things you said…true?" Merianna asked, pinning a sheet to the line.

"…Yes…" She replied.

Meirin's past had been so surprising to her. She was curious about her friend and wanted to understand her better.

"Why did you go with Sebastian then?"

"I…couldn't do it…I had…to shoot a politician…but he had a family…I couldn't take that away…"

"Do you regret it?"

"Sometimes…Sometimes the people I had to kill were horrible criminals. But not always…"

Merianna saw the cold, steely gaze in her friend's eyes, and knew behind them were a kind and friendly soul. She wished she could take away her pain. She stopped with her work and took hold of Meirin's hand.

"I think it's a good thing you decided to stop then. It had to be at one point or another."

"I'm glad…you came to this house…"

Merianna looked at her quizzically.

"There weren't any others I could talk to. They're nice people but…they're still boys."

"Boys will be boys." She sighed.

"What about you, Merianna?"

"There isn't much to say about myself…I…" She stopped herself.

Was she ready to tell her everything?

"Perhaps another time." Meirin said understandingly.

"I was a thief." She blurted out.

Merianna felt a heat rush through her face. She didn't know what she was doing anymore.

"But please don't think of me as bad…I would never steal from here."

Now it was Meirin's turn to take Merianna's hands.

"Merianna is just Merianna. No matter what happened in the past and what happens in the future." She comforted. "I…wasn't part of any rogue dealings…but if we really have to use our skills for battle, I'd think we'd make a good team. I'd have to take my glasses off first."

"Glasses?"

"I'm very far-sighted, and they were a gift from Young Master when I first came here. When I put them on, it feels like I am another person. I'm not Meirin the Sniper, just Meirin the Maid of Phantomhive estate."

"Meirin…where are they?"

She slapped a hand on her face and realized they weren't on her face anymore. She panicked, looking around the grass for them.

"I think…you left them in your room…when you were hung-over…" Merianna mumbled.

Without a word, Meirin ran back into the house to fetch them.

When Meirin came back out, she was in an even more hurried state than before, although the glasses were on her face. She grabbed Merianna's arm with such force it surprised her.

"Merianna, have you seen a golden chain?"

She thought upon the question, but could only answer no. Merianna let go of her arm and turned around, marching back into the house.

"W-Wait! A golden chain? Have you lost it?" Merianna asked, catching up to her friend.

"Yes…it must have been yesterday…I was sure I had it…but maybe…" She pondered.

She suddenly stopped.

"The thieves…The _Rouge-Gorges_ then…raided the house…"

Meirin's legs buckled under her and she sat limp on the ground. Merianna followed, wondering what was happening. Who were the robins that invaded the house? She took the glasses from her friend's face, noticing something behind them.

"Was that golden chain important to you?" She asked softly, taking out a handkerchief and handing it to Meirin.

She could only nod in reply. She held the handkerchief up and dried her eyes.

"I have to find it…I have to find it!"

She grabbed onto Merianna's arms. "It's the last thing I have to remember him by…!"

"Meirin…"

She suddenly got up unsteadily. "I have to…get it back from those…_Rouge-Gorges_…"

* * *

Merianna followed Meirin through the forest, careful to crouch down and cover herself with the fur coat she brought along. Sometimes Meirin would climb a tree and survey the area, and Merianna would have to wait until she dropped down to move. She didn't know where her friend was going, but judging by the two rifles slung on her back and the pistols she had, she was going to need help. Merianna just didn't want to hinder Meirin.

Eventually, they came upon a house in the forest, smoke rising from the chimney. Meirin climbed a tree, but only halfway up. Merianna meanwhile, sat with the covers over her. It was almost night time and the forest grew dark. For moral support, she felt the pack of tarot cards in her bodice, wishing for luck and mumbling words of comfort. She couldn't see Meirin in the trees anymore, but wasn't risking moving in case Meirin couldn't notice Merianna either.

She stared at the house, how did Meirin know this was a thief's hideout? To her, it looked like a normal cottage. She saw a dark figure with a large rifle ran across the house. It was Meirin hidden in the darkness. Merianna came to a decision: she would help Meirin find the chain. If this house simply wasn't the hideout, she would apologize and disappear off before the police came.

She kept watching the house for any movement. The smoke and light emitted from inside were signs that it was being used, but no one stirred. Merianna started feeling tired. For moral support, she brought out the pack of tarot cards and felt The Moon. Even though it was dark, the cards were so dear and familiar to her she could feel whichever card it was. She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. The air around her started to get cooler, but inside her mind, she was forming a plan.

_Yes, once he comes out, she will have to…_

_If he chooses not to, I can always go the roundabout way to attract his attention…_

…_Their choices are all clear to me now._

No matter how many there were and whatever decisions they would take, the path was clearly marked for her now.

Merianna crept closer to the house, making sure to stay away from the windows. She was at the side of the house and listened closely for the voices. She focused.

_Two voices…and another one…Three…_

She circled around the house in a crouching position, taking note of the one window in the front next to the door, the back door and parts where the light from inside would be seen. She felt around the side of the house for something to grab onto. Something to get onto the roof from. Her boot nudged against something solid and she bent down to check the height. It was a crate, about half her height. Silently, she climbed onto it. There was still no way of getting up on the roof, unless she suddenly had a growth spurt or had a mushroom that would make her larger if she ate it.

_Caught. She recognized you._

"Meri…what are you doing?" a voice hissed behind her.

Sharp hazel eyes glared at her, demanding an answer.

"Tr-Trying to get…on the roof…" she answered bluntly. "Can you help me…?"

"You're going to get yourself killed…!"

Merianna smiled. "I have a plan. Help me help you."

She moved over to allow Meirin space on the crate and helped her up. Meirin cupped her hands to allow Merianna to step on them and hoisted her up. Merianna could almost reach the top and announced that she was going to step on her shoulders. When she levered herself up she was finally able to grab onto the roof and clambered on. Silently, she motioned for Meirin to get away.

_Your weight caused two to hear sounds on the roof, but they ignored it._

Merianna, on her palms and knees, edged towards the chimney.

_Stop, Meirin has yet to get into the tree._

She obeyed her intuition and stayed still, but took off the fur cloak she brought.

_Go._

She laid the cloak over the top of the chimney and tried to hold it tight over the opening. Although most of the smoke was trapped inside, the few that escape sent Merianna into a coughing fit, which she tried to muffle.

_She understands now. She is preparing her rifle. She has decided to kill everyone there because she is consumed by rage._

Her intuition must have been wrong.

_The people inside are noticing the smoke. One suggests putting out the flame and is going to pour water over it._

Merianna smiled. She knew that pouring water on the fire would make more smoke. Leaving the fire would create more smoke too. Either way, they would have to open the windows and or doors to air it out.

_They're going to leave the house by the front door._

She left the fur cloak on the chimney and slowly made her way to the back of the house. When she heard the front door click, she hung over the edge of the roof. Feeling with her toes for something to have as a foothold. Luckily, the threshold was the size of half of her foot and she lowered herself on the side of the wall. The people on the other side evacuated the building in wheezes and coughs just as she dropped back into the ground.

_Breathe in. Load. Breathe out. Shoot._

Merianna didn't have a gun on her, where is her intuition getting these ideas? She pushed the thought away and drew the wire from her boot, intent on picking open the back door. She adjusted the loop accordingly to the size of the keyhole and fidgeted with it.

A loud crack sounded from the other side of the house, followed by screaming and more gunshots. It must have been Meirin shooting from her rifles. She felt a sense of guilt and regret for flushing the people out, but she opened the door to the inside. The house was still in smoke, but most of it had been aired out through the front door and windows. She saw Meirin stepping from the front door, two rifles slung on her back as she was wiping her glasses.

She put them back on and nodded to Merianna. "Don't worry. They aren't dead, just incapacitated."

Merianna breathed a sigh of relief, scanning the surroundings of the small house. At the table where the thieves were sitting were various golden artefacts, a goblet, a candleholder, various coins and a golden chain. She picked it up and examined it. It was plain gold woven between each link.

"Meirin…is it this?"

Merianna put it in Meirin's palms, and she put on her glasses to look at it more closely. She didn't reply, but her smile was enough of an answer.

"Thank you, Merianna. I really…Thank you…"

Outside, the three bandits were unconscious, leg bleeding from their bullet wounds. Meirin assured that they would not die. Merianna questioned their method of returning home, as they came by endless walking.

_We can't walk home…if we take the horses from the houses…_

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" Meirin asked.

She brought out a brown horse, holding the reins in one hand and the reins of a white one, also saddled and reined. Merianna shook her head, staring wide-eyed at the animal. Meirin easily got onto the horse and grabbed the reins like an expert.

"Step on the stirrup and get onto the saddle." She advised. "Use the cantle to help yourself up."

Merianna stepped up to the white one. She could hardly see where the saddle was, even if she did understand what Meirin told her to do. She grabbed the back of the horse and tried to get on, like jumping over a fence. Unfortunately, the horse was too large and she fell back with a grunt.

Meirin sighed, got off her horse and helped Merianna up. She gave a quick lesson on horseback riding, to hold the reins tightly and to feel the movement of the horse. For extra support, she tied a rope from her saddle to Merianna's and set off on a trot down a small part in the forest. Just like the carriage, Merianna was surprised at the sudden jolt.

"It's okay. I didn't know how to ride a horse at first either." Meirin said. "An officer taught me how to."

"Officer? But didn't you say you were a sharpshooter before?" Merianna mused.

Meirin looked back at Merianna with a small smile. "His name was Allen Chandler. He was…part of the force."

_I had to…with my own hand…_

Merianna shook her head from the intrusive thoughts. The strange voices had been pestering her all day. It had come into use knowing what decisions the thieves would take, but now it was being intrusive.

After they reached the mansion, they let the (stolen) horses mingle with the others in the stable and quietly crept back to the inside of the house, hoping they wouldn't awaken anyone else. Once they arrived at the servants' quarters, they bade each other good night.

Merianna pulled the pack of tarot cards and put it on the nightstand, brushing a finger on The Moon and put on her nightgown.

* * *

"_It's fine. She works more like a machine than a human! Who knew women could shoot better than men, right?"_

"_Well, if you put it that way, we'll leave this job for you, number two."_

_Meirin nodded and accepted the briefing documents, leaving the room. Outside in the hall, she scanned it over and ripped them into pieces, leaving the shredded pieces for the custodians to clean up._

"_It doesn't matter the person's name, locations or age. It's always the same cycle of killing human after human." She muttered._

_She collected the sniper rifle the weapon-guard assigned to her, angrily shoving back the scope he left on. With the case on, no would recognize the rifle. She stepped back into the evening light. The location was near the park, and it was quite a distance away._

"_Miss Meirin?" a voice behind her called._

_A young man strode up beside her on a chestnut-brown horse. His face seemed to have lit up when Meirin turned around._

"_Mr…Chandler…I…WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"_

"_Allen, please just call me Allen." He said, dismounting the horse. "Are you going somewhere? Let me accompany you. Is that violin heavy? I'll carry it for you."_

"_Mr…Allen…I can manage myself perfectly well!" She protested._

"_Tch, you aren't like a lady at all." He said, but added. "I like that about you…H-Hey! Why are you walking so fast?!"_

"_I'm just going to the park! Leave me alone! You're in the wa-"_

_Allen grabbed her wrist tightly before she could escape. He knew she wasn't angry with him. If she really wanted to, she could have ripped her wrist away, but she stayed passive._

"_I…I know who you are."_

_She turned to stare at him. The serious look on his face that she hardly saw ripped into her heart._

"_You aren't just going for a walk in the park…that isn't a violin case and…you don't want to go alone. I'm a police officer after all, soon to be detective."_

_Meirin's heart was pounding. Now that she was caught, what would he do? She didn't want to risk losing him. Knowing now that she was a criminal, would he have to arrest her? To kill her?_

"_I…I…I'm not…different…" was all she could manage to say._

_He bent down and lightly kissed her cheek. "I'm not either."_

_She held a hand to touch her burning cheek._

_"I'll let you go now, but don't forget I promised you a horseback trip next week!"_

* * *

Merianna stood up and looked at the window. It was still dark but everything seemed light. She opened the door and walked through the servants' quarters, the hallways and the study to the garden. The was basked in the soft light of the moon and she walked towards the patio.

"Merianna? Is that you?"

Meirin caught the snowy-white hair of her friend, who stood there, facing here. She was still in her nightgown, and her bare feet were getting wet from the dew. She was having a drink outside, needing to ease her mind. She didn't think anyone else was awake. But not even the extra person here was-her eyes were closed.

"Are you…Are you sleepwalking?" Meirin whispered, as she stood up from the chair.

She walked over to get a closer look at her friend. Her eyes were definitely closed no sign of expression on her face. She wondered if she should wake her friend up. She saw something glimmer: tears.

"Merianna…you're crying…and you aren't even awake…" Meirin said, amazed.

She felt Merianna's arms suddenly wrap around her in a hug. Meirin was surprised at first, how much could one person do while asleep?

"Risado sirscunus…_dris-vit…_"

Meirin suddenly felt sleepy, a sudden wave of peace washed over her. She saw something burst from behind her friend, but she was pulled into her unconscious state by a wave of white.

"_osha te-erhu touza…"_

_Tell me everything…_

* * *

"_Gah, this man's been a thorn in our sides ever since. We can't trust him at all being close to our organization. We've seen him prowling around the building like a stray cat expecting to be fed. Number two, you can take care of it, right?"_

"_I…I…"_

"_Number two!" The boss roared. "You let the last target get away yesterday, don't think you'll get off lightly now! I won't accept excuses like 'They have family' or 'I have cold feet anymore! If you're not going to do the job right, we'll finish you off!"_

"_If you can't do it, then I will."_

"_Shut your trap, number four…"_

"_What's gotten into you? Don't tell me your heart is wavering or some shit like that. Wake up, number two. This is what we're paid to do, and this is the only thing you'll ever be useful for, so don't get cocky just because you've got that far-sightedness working in your favour."_

"_**I said I'll do it**_**! **_Just tell me the goddamn name and I'll put a bullet right between his eyes!"_

"_That's what we like to hear…well then; number two, your next target is Chandler. Allen Chandler."_

* * *

_They met at the park, as they said. Meirin was sitting on the bench, staring at the lake shimmering in the evening light. Allen was late again, no doubt probably helping an old lady cross the busy road or some other good deed out of his way._

"_What's wrong Meirin? You always loved coming to this park together…Is it because I bought your that gold necklace? I told you, it wasn't too much work!"_

"_Allen…Do you love me…as in…we'll get married one day?"_

"…_That's not something to question. Of course I do."_

_She clenched her fists on the skirt she was wearing today, just for him. Being the unlady-like type she was, she wasn't sure what his reaction to her sudden appearance would be._

"_You're here to kill me, aren't you?"_

_He always had a way to surprise her._

"_There's that one guy across the lake, in the branches of that tree aiming just in case you couldn't bring yourself to do it…and that dress…that dress looks lovely on you. It's just that…"_

_He brought his hands up to Meirin's eyes and wiped away the tears._

"_These things make everything look blurry, don't they?"_

"_I'm not going to do it." Meirin decided. "I no longer want to be a machine running through the cycles of killing human after human. I've…taken away so many lives and yet…for the first time I've had something taken away from me."_

_She buried her head in his coat, muffling a 'my heart'. She decided to tell him how she felt, the feelings she felt as a normal human being, not a killing machine._

"_Allen…Inside, I really lo-"_

_A crack fired and Allen suddenly shifted. She felt something sting against her face. Allen Chandler fell limp against the side of the bench, a bullet wound drawing blood from his chest. Obviously whoever shot, intended to kill both of them at the same time._

"_Allen!"_

_Meirin lifted his head up. There was still the tiniest bit of life in them, although the wound was dangerously close to his heart, it was not a fatal hit. She held his hands and was trembling, calling out his name with a voice quivering under the strain of tears._

"_Mei…Meirin…Are you there…? Your hands…are shaking so much…I guess you aren't…made to be a killer sniper after all…"_

"_Don't say things like that! Allen…! I'm…sorry…If only I thought about it more…If only I didn't have my pride of being a senseless machine and feel…feel like you can…"_

_He pressed something into Meirin's hands, a small box wrapped in ruby wrapping, a small pink bow adorning it._

"_Meirin…you do feel…you feel what I do…I can see it...in your eyes."_

* * *

Meirin felt like she slept on a bed of soft down feathers, that as she reviewed her memories it flowed out like a river and that some holy being from above was granting her a safe paradise to release all her buried thoughts and feelings. It was like she was in a dream-state.

"I'm…still not a perfect sniper…If I had never met him; my hands wouldn't shake so much on the trigger…I wonder why…? Why did he have such a gentle look on his face? It was like…he forgot he was…looking at the one that killed him…I wish…I had those gentle eyes…"

* * *

The next morning, Finnian found Meirin and Merianna sleeping on the lawn, completely cold from the morning dew. He shook them both awake and asked them what happened last night.

"Nothing," Meirin answered. "Just a walk to the park."

Merianna honestly wondered how she got there, and why her eyes were sore. She tapped Meirin on the shoulder and asked how they were found on the lawn. She only remembered going to sleep after their delinquent adventure.

"Meri, you have an amazing ability to comfort people and cry…even when you're asleep." She replied good-heartedly.


	4. Revealing

Merianna was once again tired and groggy from sleeping on the cold ground. It was if she slept on the hundred mattresses hiding a single pea...if she was that fair a princess. She and Meirin kept their adventure a secret from the rest of the staff. There was work to be done...if she could find any. Being the newest addition and thus the lowest ranking, she didn't have anything to do.

She figured Bardroy would have something for her to do and like a good scullery maid; she made her way to the kitchen. On the way there, she heard a large explosion that rocked the house and she fell on her derrière with a yelp. Heavy black smoke arose from the kitchen and she heard coughing coming from inside. Some creature appeared and advanced to her with glowing eyes and sharp claws, although most of it was veiled by the smoke.

"What have you done to Bardroy?" She screamed.

The creature laughed and took off its goggles. He switched the kitchen utensils from his hands and offered a hand to help her up. It was just Bardroy, his white chef uniform a charred black and his messy hair looking even messier. She took his hand and stared in amazement at the kitchen...or what was left of it...She pulled a rag from her pocket and wiped some of the black soot off his uniform.

"Ah, don't worry about it" He said. "We can wash all this off later."

He stepped back into the burned-out kitchen once the smoke dissipated; starting to rummage through whatever survived the blast. Pots and pans lay on the ground screaming in pain and it looked like a brontosaurus confused as a stegosaurus rampaged through it. Merianna wanted to ask what and how this happened, but she didn't want to lower whatever dignity Bardroy had left and helped clean up. By the end, her uniform was as soot-covered as his was. They looked at each other and laughed good-heartedly.

"So, how do you like this mansion so far, Snowy?" He asked. "Maybe…apart from cleaning after me."

"I don't mind." She replied kindly, "I like having someone to take care after. It makes me feel useful, needed."

Bardroy fetched a broom and was sweeping the floor, although some of the sticky ashes clung stubbornly to the ground. Merianna arrived with the cavalry: a bucket and mop. After a good washing, the kitchen looked the way it always was, but it was an improvement. Bardroy slumped into his chair and sighed, passing a glass of water over to Merianna. She took the seat across from him and gladly accepted it.

"I'm used to cooking food as quick as possible, which isn't easy on the battlefield. Sebastian's warned me thousands of times not to use dynamite inside the house." He recalled, lighting up a cigarette. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks though."

Merianna stared warily at the small wrapped up tobacco.

"You don't smoke, do you?" Bardroy asked.

She shook her head, looking away. "It makes you cough."

"Good thing you don't then..."

Merianna held a hand up to cover her mouth, as if she could block herself from saying anything more. She was recalling memories again, but now was neither the place nor the time. She examined the web-like cracks on the walls, to distract herself. No doubt some were there for a long time.

"Do they make you into bad people?" She whispered.

Part of her wanted to know but she wasn't sure if the answer would make her feel any better. He gave her a questionable gaze and a mumbled 'huh?'

She sighed. "Nothing..."

Perhaps she was asking too many personal questions.

Bardroy scratched his head. "I hope it doesn't. Why? Are you scared of me or something?"

She shook her head feverently. "I knew someone that did...that's all."

She smiled at him to make up for the awkwardness.

Bardroy understood without a word and smushed the half-used cigarette on the table. He got up and asked her if she was busy or had anything else to do. When she replied no, he handed her a folded piece of paper.

"You can read, right? I have a list of ingredients we need for dinner today, and was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to the town to pick them up."

He dug into his pockets and took out a handful of coins, slamming them on the table, telling Merianna to hold the money.

"Put them in a safe place, now." He warned. "We don't want to have that...incident...happen again."

* * *

Merianna stayed close to Bardroy while they manoeuvred the market. People were shouting everywhere and bustling around, searching for the best deals. Merianna held the shopping list and followed Bardroy, occasionally shouting out the next item on the list. So far, they had potatoes, leeks, parsley, mutton and oranges. Merianna couldn't imagine these ingredients together in a meal. They were now on the search for some haddock fish.

Suddenly someone bumbling around the streets crashed into Merianna, who was blown off onto her butt. She groaned as she got up, looking at the person who collided into her. It was an old woman wrapped up in dirty, thin clothing. She apologized profusely to Merianna while bending down to pick up some of the apples that fell from her basket. Her wrinkled hands shook as she slowly tried to bend down to reach them, but it was visibly difficult for her.

The old woman watched helplessly as some were trodden by careless passer-bys and even a carriage ran over them. The young girl she crashed into bent down to pick up two apples that rolled over near her and offered them back to her. Although it was only two, it was better than nothing.

Merianna knew how it felt to be poor, to have food in your hands snatched away by fate itself and crushed-even by something as simple as an accident. She managed to find one more uncrushed apple for the old woman before making sure she was unhurt by the collision, and then wished her a safe journey back. Turning around, she realized she lost Bardroy in the crowd.

She pulled at her apron anxiously. Only Bardroy knew where Tanaka had parked the carriage and the way around the bustling market. She stood on the tips of her toes trying to oversee the area. The last item they were looking for was haddock fish, so she reasoned to find the fish stalls.

"'Scuse me ma'am but could'a spare a few coins for a small child?" a raspy voice asked.

The kid kept his head bowed under his beret, but Merianna recognized it as Trip-Links, pulling at her apron and making his way to the pocket, an old a word, she took a step back cautiously. Confused, he looked up at her.

"It-It's you!" He realized.

Frightened, he ran off and disappeared with the crowd. Merianna found the edge of the market, where the vegetables were being sold and attempted to walk around until she found fish…or smelt it. There was still no sign of Bardroy though and she was beginning to wonder how she would get back to the mansion. Suddenly, her ears pricked up. Did someone call her name?

She wasn't sure if it was Bardroy or not, but she ran towards where she heard her name being called. A small crowd was gathering around something in the distance. She clearly heard her name now, and it was Bardroy's voice. Merianna pushed between people muttering apologies and made her way to the center.

Bardroy had a basket of groceries in one hand, and in the other, Trip-Links, wailing to be let go and put down on the ground. Merianna flustered at the sight of them both in the same place.

"Oi, Merianna! You know this kid?" He yelled.

She felt numerous eyes suddenly turned as he addressed her and grew hot. She silently hoped Trip-Links didn't say anything embarrassing or awful about her to him.

"Hey, you little brat, you better apologize to her right now!" He growled menacingly.

Trip-Links looked at his reproachfully. "I ain't apalojizing for saying the truth! She's a witch I tell you! She's a white-haired witch! That's what they all says!" He screamed.

"What's that?!" Bardroy yelled back. "Listen, you puny twerp! I'll kick your little bum all the way t-"

"I-It's okay." Merianna said, tensing up from all the bad publicity. "It's okay, Bardroy. Just let him go."

Bardroy seemed to understand her embarrassment, and slowly let Trip-Links back on the ground, giving him a whack on the head before he straightened his hat. This was not how Merianna expected to find him. She could feel Trip-Links and Bardroy staring daggers at each other. The crowd seemed to lose interest, although the two boys kept their stances and grimacing faces.

"Ey! Whoever's messin' with my cousin gets a beef of me!" A voice suddenly yelled.

The crowd was against pushed away by three more young men. Merianna unfortunately, recognized Cuffs as the speaker, followed by Step-Strings and Oliva. They glared angrily at Bardroy while Trip-Links ran up to him. He whispered into Step-String's ear and pointed at Bardroy. Step-Strings punched a fist to his palm, a gesture of aggression. Bardroy unconsciously took a cigarette and lit it.

"This your bastard of a cousin?" He asked.

Merianna had a feeling this was going to turn into a fight, but her feet and fists were paralyzed with anxiety that already struck her when she walked here. Apparently the others had yet to notice her presence. Both sides looked ready to go at each other's throats and she could tell by the expression on Step-String's face that he was not amused by the question. The other two beside him bristled, ready to fight.

"Ya got a problem, bud? We'll settle it raight here, raight now."

_No, don't fight!_ Her mind yelled. Although nothing came out of her mouth, she felt her body shaking with the will to move, battling against the instinct to stay put.

"We aren't afraids of you." Cuffs growled.

"Yeah? What's a scrawny kid like you gonna do?"

She had to react, was she going to stop Bardroy or the others? He was outnumbered and what was she supposed to do? Her voice went dry and a stone sat in it.

"I can take any punch from you kids without even flinching!" Bardroy challenged.

She didn't have to use her voice at all. Instead, she managed to free herself from paralysis and stepped in front of Bardroy to yell at the boys for causing so much trouble to him. A hard object suddenly crashed into her forehead and sent her reeling backwards. She felt hands around her shoulders steadying her before she fell backwards.

"Merianna?! What the hell?!" Two voices yelled in unison.

She held a hand to her forehead, which felt warm. When she retracted her hand, fresh blood was oozing out and staining it. Bardroy had managed to catch her before she gave herself more injury with the ground.

"Sorry…I-I'm…getting blood on your…all your clothing…" She muttered as she got back on her own feet.

Cuffs was looking bewildered at her. Everyone else was looking at her, surprised how she appeared out of nowhere. Mutterings and even a lady's scream erupted from the crowd around them.

Merianna couldn't stand how much her forehead was hurting and dropped to her knees, clutching the wound with her two hands and groaning in pain. She doubted it cracked open her skull, but it felt like a lightning bolt struck it a dozen times in the same spot.

"I-I-I didns't know…I uh…!" She heard Cuffs stutter. "I didns't mean to…"

Merianna saw him get to his knees in front of her and drop the metal handcuffs he used as a weapon. She bit down hard to stifle the screaming that was happening inside of her head. She could tell her face was going red and she was threatened by tears…again.

"Great going, asshole!" She heard Bardroy yell.

"I didsn't think she'd intervene outta nowhere!"

Step-Strings joined in: "Why is Blood-Eyes even here in the first place?"

The fighting and accusations continued sailing over her while she still clung her head and calmed her raging body down. She didn't expect to get hit in the head by Cuffs, but just hoped that she wouldn't be again. She knew that if she relaxed her body, the pain would cause her vocal chords to rip themselves screaming.

"Who the hell even uses metal handcuffs for a fist fight?!"

"Bloody hell…the bobbies are coming here!" Oliva warned.

Using all the muscles she had, she slowly got on her hands and onto her feet. The blood ran from her forehead down her eyes and past her nose, almost reaching her lips and chin. It had a sour, bitter smell and it was dripping uncontrollably.

"Cuffs, that hurt! You didn't even mean that!" She accused, wiping the blood and tears that flowed over her eyes.

Cuffs held up an oversized coat sleeve to cover his face, which was growing red in a silent response at the accusation. The way Merianna said it sounded like a child demanded their candy back from another child. Oliva tugged at Step-String's sleeves annoyingly, whispering that the policemen were arriving in their direction.

"Of course I didns't mean it!" He yelled back defensively.

He muttered an embarrassing apology to her, muffled by his sleeve before they took off on swift feet in the opposite direction. Merianna had to keep clearing her eyes of blood, although the pain was steadily dulling.

"Geez, Snowy! What were you thinking, tossing yourself into a man's fight like that?!" Bardroy barked.

He softened up when she turned around and revealed her blood-soaked face.

"I…I thought I could stop it…" she admitted.

"Dammit…let's just get you to a doctor and go home before we get into anymore trouble…"

* * *

"M-Meri! Wh-What happened!" Meirin cried in surprise, almost dropping the stack of dishes she was about to put away.

Merianna came back with her head wrapped up in bandages, most of it covering her eyes. She couldn't argue with the doctor, but she could tell he did not have experience in the finer arts of wrapping. Bardroy had to shamefully explain the events that unfolded at the market and how it led it Merianna having yet another head injury. Although she was wounded, Merianna still offered help with the chores. Eventually, they managed to have her settle down and lie on the couch to help heal the wound. She was initially worried that she would bleed on the cushions and create more housework, but she eventually drifted off to sleep.

Bardroy felt awful that he wasn't watching Snowy more carefully. If she didn't get lost, she would've been spared the injury and embarrassment. He still wondered how the four thugs knew her though. She shouldn't have gone between them anyways. The handcuffs one was aiming for his chest, a respectable target for his issued challenge, but with Snowy suddenly stepping it, it became a fatal blow to the forehead.

He found her snoozing away on the couch as he was going to tell her that dinner was ready downstairs, but opted to lend her his chef coat as a blanket for the meantime. He leaned over to take a look at the bandages and noted that they needed to be changed…once she awoke. He figured he'd let her sleep for ten more minutes until he would wake her up. Bardroy thought he heard her say something, watching if her lips were moving.

"…sirscunus…Vaint…"

After that mumbling, there was no more. He shrugged it off as sleep-talk, as Meirin informed him that Merianna was prone to doing and waited for another two minutes. Suddenly, the coat was flung off and Merianna got up, feeling the wound on her head.

"Hey, Snowy. How're you feeling?"

She did not reply, but instead turned to him with cold, unwavering eyes peering from underneath the bandages. It was as if she was looking into his soul and working up a good insult to throw at him.

"Don't you regret it?" She asked, in a clear voice.

He was at a loss of words. What did she mean? He had no time to ask before something felt warm dripping down his head. It was blood.

"You have a niece you left behind in America. Will she repent for your sin?"

Merianna seemed to have sprouted multiple wings from behind her and Bardroy felt himself falling backwards. The world became a mixture of white and the red of blood…

"Bardroy…Bardroy…"

He muttered a 'go away' and turned onto his side. There were multiple fingers jabbing into his shoulder and arm. He swiped them away and got up, his eyes burning at the sudden light.

"Geez, Bard." Meirin said. "We send you to fetch Meri and what do you do? Take a nap on the ground without even waking her up before!"

He looked around and saw an annoyed Meirin poking him awake. Finny and Merianna stood next to her, smiling down at him. He must have woken up from a bad dream. His chef coat was strewn over him, although he swore he lent it to Merianna. His friends helped him get up off the floor and to the dinner table.

The resulting meal was supposed to be a 'beef stew'. It had the ingredients for a 'beef stew' and had the consistency of 'beef stew'. However, the colour was not similar to 'beef stew' and certainly the flavour was very unlike 'beef stew'. A cheap imitation was not even the correct term for the meal Bardroy piled together in their five bowls. Not even Tanaka could give him friendly standard 'hohohoh' at such a meal.

"I wish Sebastian were back!" Finny whined, poking a spoon at a piece of cracked bone. "Even the leftovers from his meals were good!"

Merianna ate a spoonful, and another. It didn't taste as bad to her, but any food was tasty food for her. Meirin choked down several drops at a time, not wanting to offend her friend. Bardroy too, had no problems eating his own cooking, except for adding a bit of salt to flavour. Merianna noticed how the others looked at her in surprise when she was eating the stew.

It tasted okay to her because of her experience with hunger and starvation. Where any kind of food tasted good.

* * *

After dinner and the subsequent dish-washing, the servants all had leisure time to spend. Finny had gathered a small bouquet of lavender flowers to present to Merianna. Her head injury looked bad and he heard that bad fumes would cause disease to spread inside her cranium. Lavender should drive away the bad spirits. He asked Meirin where she was, and headed to the library. He had never gone there himself, simply tolerating its existence. Along the way, he caught up with Bardroy, who had a roll of bandages in his hands, intent of re-applying Snowy's.

Merianna was in the library, sitting in a small chair in front of the fire. A footrest stood in front of her, servicing her in holding books instead of feet. She seemed to be deeply entranced by the novel in her hands, not even noticing her two friends coming in. She gave a small giggle, most likely from a funny scene in the book. Finny looked at Bardroy, who returned the uncomfortable gaze. He walked to the seat opposite to her and sat down, directly watching her. She still didn't seem to notice. Finny walked to the side of Merianna's chair, close enough that he could read over her shoulder. She still didn't notice.

"Hey Snowy." Bardroy greeted.

She suddenly jolted from her book and yelped when she found Finny at her side. She apologized shyly for not noticing them and buried her nose in the book

"You weren't thinking of falling asleep here again, were you Meri?" Finny joked lightly.

Bardroy helped her unravel the bandages, which showed all shades of red as it soaked up the blood. Despite the heavy bleeding, it was healing well with no sign of infection or dirt. She continued reading while Bardroy wrapped them. Finny found a vase to place the flowers in and brought it close to her. When he was done, he stepped back to admire his handiwork, and then sat down in the chair across from her, meaning to have a discussion with her.

"Who were those ruffians back in town?" He asked in a direct manner.

He caught her twitch in her seat and her hands clamped the covers of the book tighter.

"Just a bunch of boys, I'm sure."

He persisted. "It sounded like they knew you…and you knew them…"

She stayed silent.

"Meri, are these people after you?" Finny asked innocently.

She stayed silent. Bardroy could tell this was going nowhere and fumbled for a cigarette. He lit it using the fire in the room and held it to his mouth. Apparently that caught Merianna's attention, and she was staring angrily at it.

"Bard!" Finny scolded. "Don't smoke in here, it'll make Merianna sick!"

He scoffed and threw the fully-usable cigarette into the fireplace, the pack still on his lap. His mind was already stressed when suddenly a hand snatched the carton away from him. Merianna held it away from him and looked down at it with a pained look.

"H-Hey!" He objected.

"I don't want you smoking these…" She said. "They make you fight people and make you do bad things!"

She clutched them close to her body while Bardroy stood up to get them back. As if she were putting a last wish into them, she threw the carton into the fireplace. Finny have a loud gasp as it burned up. Bardroy was just about to yell and shake Merianna by the shoulders. Instead, she took the hard-covered novel and started hitting Bardroy's chest with it.

"I don't want you to become like them! I don't want you to be coughing all the time and then needing to have to do bad things like fighting and yelling!" She squeaked. "Why don't you stop when it makes you cough and doesn't taste good at all?!"

She kept hitting him, but not in a way that would seriously hurt him. She was like a little child trying to knock some sense into him in the way only an innocent child knew how. She continued like this, but Bardroy didn't object to it. She was usually a quiet person, and now might be the only way she expressed how she felt about it.

She stopped when a sudden pain hurt her head, and she stepped back, holding a hand over the sore spot. Her eyes were shimmery and her hands were shaky with agitation.

"I'm sorry." She huffed. "I don't want to see you becoming like the others. They told me they were thieves because they needed the money. They spent the money on those smoking sticks…they died thin and pale because they didn't buy food…They were kind to me and cared for everyone, but their hearts only belonged to spending the few coins they had on the smoking sticks…cigarettes…"

"…Alright…" was all he could say. "I will if you tell me about those guys. I don't want them on our backs every time we have to go back to town. What happened back there?"

The three of them sat back down into the seats. Merianna wiped her eyes and fidgeted nervously, trying to make her words and sentences connect.

"The little child…He was trying to pick my pocket, but I recognized him and stopped him. When he recognized me too, he went running off. That must have been when you ran into him…His name is Trip-Links…"

"Trip-Links? Is that a sort of nickname or something?" Finny asked.

She nodded. "On the streets, we usually give each other names…based on a memorable event or innovation the individual made. It's a way of being defined, a fairy tale for every person. His name came from the time he stole a link of sausages from the butcher's one day, and he was successful with his haul until he tripped on the links, dropping the sausages where it was quickly eaten by strays."

Merianna stopped to stifle a small giggle.

Finny still wanted to hear more "So then what's yours, Meri?"

"My first…was Ghost-Walker…They said that I was so light I could step pass people without them even noticing the wind move…just like a ghost. The second…you've probably heard…Blood-Eyes…because my eyes and face become red when I cry…quite frequently…"

The latter was obviously an insult which made her uncomfortable.

"So…you used to hang around with these people…" Bardroy commented, crossing his arms and leaning back.

She took a deep breath and exhaled a positive response. "Our small group…started out small but I suppose there are more who have joined…we work together to live on. There are only two or three adults who help us, mostly just for bargaining price sales on the things we steal. We called each other cousins, no matter what we were…even though"

She gave a small smile.

"Even though I was the only girl, they took me in and cared very much for me. Even though the winters were cold and so were the people, we shared everything. Food, heat, space… In a sense we were a family…"

Bardroy nodded. "So they did know you…that guy that hit you with the handcuffs and the red-haired boy…"

"Please don't hold it against them…!" She pleaded. "The red haired one who first approached you was Step-Strings. He is a summer younger than me, but he already has ingenious ideas and is taller than me. It was he that devised a fishing technique to pull hooked pouches and money-bags from pockets. Oliva was the young boy, simply a new addition to the family who had yet to have a title, so we call him how he calls himself…Oliva. The one that tried to attack you was someone…"

The door burst open and in a frantic sight, Meirin appeared, holding a letter in her hands. She called to him and put at letter in his hands. It seemed to have been frayed, folded and have travelled a far away land. He looked at the front and on the back at the envelope awaiting opening.

"It was delivered by a different postman than usual. He said it was urgent and be read by you." She reported.

She fetched a pen knife for him, although by that time, he was already tearing at the envelope, a worn paper emerging. It had nothing interesting, but Bardroy had his eyes glued to it, reading it with wide eyes.

"W-What's wrong, Bard?" Finny asked, worried.

He squeezed the paper in his hands, visibly agitated. "It's my sister's daughter, Ceceila. She fell unconscious and had to be taken in to a hospital…She has something wrong with her head, and it's causing it to bleed heavily…She might die if my sister doesn't have the funds for the surgery they need…she needs me to write her some money for the treatment…"

He crunched the letter up, dropped it and held his head in his hands. "I don't even know if I have enough money from my wages! And how am I supposed to send that much money over to the New Worlds?"

"We'll share!" Finny shouted. "I don't need the money Young Master gives me! I would gladly give it to you, Bard. Please take it!"

"Me too!" Meirin added. "Your niece might be in danger if she doesn't go through with it!"

"How are we going to send it though…? I have no idea how to…do these things…"

Merianna spoke up. "I can write. I can write a letter and I know how to mail it across the countries as well. It might have to cross France and Spain before being sent across the ocean…but I know how to write in those languages too."

Bardroy extended his arms and managed to catch his three friends in them, pulling them in to a group hug. He grinned and felt a loving warmness spread inside him. He thanked them for their kindness.

* * *

Enclosed in the envelope were many bills, all were large numbers, a note to the postmen about the amount enclosed and enough money for the fare across the ocean. There was also a letter to Bardroy's sister and niece, consoling them and assuring them that all will go well. Now it was up to Merianna to deliver it to the post office and sign whatever was necessary for the transfer of funds.

Since all her wages went directly to the payment for breaking the rose bush (aka she has no money), the least she could do was write the necessary documents, letters and deliver it to the post office. Although the servants could read, none of them had the penmanship skills other than Tanaka, although he was already asleep at the time.

As her heels clacked on the stone road, she wondered how far the letter would go. For sure it would have to pass into French borders. Maybe she should have written the directions and address in Italian as well as the French and English already included. For a second, she imagined using a magic spell of potion to shrink herself to fit into the letter and setting off to explore America, meeting Bardroy's niece and then returning back to England through another letter.

She hummed a small tune to herself. The roads were bare as most people went to church that early morning. Since there were no people, she sang a little louder and skipped along the roads. A young man sitting on a bench nearby suddenly got up and blocked her from going further.

"Step-Strings!" She gasped.

His rusty hair was tied back and his clothes were especially dirty today. His hands were casually shoved in the pockets of his trousers. The freckles on his face matched his eyes, the ones he used to examine her.

"What're ya doing, Blood-Eyes? In that fancy get-up. Is this anoth' ploy or did ya suddenly deecide to go an' buy a nice dress for yerself?" He questioned. "I thought you were ones of us, Blood-Eyes."

She took a step back, feeling a little guilty and compassion. "I can't…I stopped running around with you guys. I have a working job now…and I think it's better like this. You…You guys too…should stop before something bad happens…"

She turned to leave, but he stopped her.

"Wait!"

He brought out a small patch of white-coloured flowers. "From Cuffs. He says he's sorry fer yesterday, that he didn't means to hit ya'. He says he heard that bad fumes are gunna make ya feel worse than that punch did."

She pulled away the bandages on her head. After washing her hair free of the red staining, it was healing like magic. Step-Strings took note of her much better condition. She thanked him, and showed him two coins, which she put into her apron pocket and continued walking, swerving around him.

"I found them on the road. Someone must have dropped them…Thanks for the message."

He smiled as he let her walk past him.

"He calls 'em Snowdrops or something like that."

While the two walked away from each other, she reached into her apron pocket and found not the two coins, but a small patch of Snowdrop flowers tied together with a string. Although their smell was not as strong, the message he gave her came across clearly.


	5. Changes

"Welcome back, Young Master!" the servants greeted.

"I'm surprised that the house is still in standing…" Sebastian commented dryly. "And that _she _is still here."

Merianna puffed her cheek, annoyed at the remark, but she let it pass. While she, Sebastian, Meirin and Bardroy take the suitcases and bags back inside the mansion, Tanaka and Finny took the carriage and horses back around the house. Ciel made his way up to the mansion, his journey wearing him out. Merianna attempted to catch up to him while lugging up a particularly heavy suitcase, happy that he was back. He looked back at her strangely.

"Do you have something to say to me, Merianna?" He asked.

She shook her head, bursting into a small smile. He walked a little slower up the steps until Sebastian came up behind Merianna.

"That looks too heavy for you, and it would be a nuisance if you were to drop it like a klutz. Leave this one to me while you go fetch the other ones." He said.

Although it was said kindly, Merianna saw the annoyance and firmness in his eyes. She relented with a sharp glare at him. For a moment she thought of whacking him with the heavy suitcase and watching him roll down the stairs into a lifeless heap…but resisted the temptation. She didn't even know she was capable of such evil thoughts.

"Oh great, Sebastian is back…" Bardroy muttered, shuddering with fear.

With an angry sniff, she turned back to pick another suitcase to carry in.

* * *

Merianna had been trying to avoid Sebastian all day. She would even leave one room she was cleaning to one at the other side of the house if he came near. She would never hear any peace if he were to criticize every move she made. When she was satisfied that the top floor had all been clean, she jumped over to the library. The shelves of books were like a haven to her, a sanctuary. She decided to journey through the world with an atlas today and found them on the opposite side to the novels and adventure books.

She analyzed the maps she didn't recognize. It was labelled 'Cathay' and had various mountains and roads. She read the side notes next to this new land, and it described a heavenly palace with strange monsters and wonders. She was starry-eyed as her imagination filled the blank spots of the maps. She wanted to draw this map, to keep a copy and hang it up on the wall of her room.

She found some parchment paper nearby and searched for a writing utensil. There was a quill and an inkwell nearby and she set the paper over the book, wanting to trace the outline of Cathay. She lay on her stomach near the fire, kicking her feet like a child. She outlined half of the country, adding in the mountain range and various rivers.

She wondered if it was filled with treasures waiting to be snatched up by brave explorers, ghost ships sailing in vast oceans and dragons guarding their hoard of jewels and gold there. In her mind, she was a corsair, captain of a grand ship holding up the letter of marque of the queen while she sailed to the corners of the world and found treasures and new critters to bring back to England.

"Merianna, what are you doing here?"

When she looked up, she was surprised to see her master and the head butler staring disapprovingly down at her. She jumped to her feet, clutching her drawing behind her back and greeted them politely.

"If you have enough time to be lying around the fire, you should be working." Sebastian shot.

"I finished my chores, I assure you!" she shot back.

"What are you doing with that atlas?" Ciel demanded, breaking the tension between them.

"…drawing…" she whispered, looking away from them.

"Aren't you old enough to outgrow drawing doodles and playing around?" He asked sardonically.

She puffed her cheek in irritation. "I want to travel the world in a ship one day. Like a pirate."

Sebastian put his head limply in his hand. "Young Master, I can't tell whether we've hired a maid or a child…"

Ciel simply shook his head and walked to the bookshelf next to her. She glared at Sebastian but continued to draw out the map in front of the fire. She added a ship manned by a miniature-Merianna and various sea serpents in the nearby oceans. It wasn't a masterpiece and her penmanship had gotten rusty, but despite the ink blots and messes, it came alive in her eyes.

"Sebastian…where are the French dictionaries?" Ciel muttered, unable to find them.

Merianna pointed the feather quill at the wall to her right.

"I re-arranged all the books in alphabetical order." Came here reply.

He had an irritated look on his face, and bent down to watch Merianna draw in lakes and desert, as according to the atlas.

"Is that you? In the stupid-looking boat?" He asked.

She nodded, tightening her grip on the quill to appease her anger.

"I have a client who comes from there….What is that?!"

He pointed one of the special figures Merianna decided to add in.

"A dragon. I don't know what kind of animals they have there, so I added in a _peluda_."

"Peluda?"

She nodded, noticing the child-like curiosity in his eyes. "_La Velue_, a dragon that terrorized France with its body made of quills and fire-breath."

"Certainly, those kinds of creatures don't exist." Sebastian scoffed.

"It terrorized the farmers' crops and livestock and ate up people, until one day a brave warrior challenged the beast and chopped off its only vulnerable spot-the tail!"

She imitated the swishing of the sword with the quill pen for dramatic effect.

"_Repose en paix!_"

Ciel had a blank look on his face; she guessed that he didn't understand her French.

"Repose en paix…rest in peace…requiescat in pace…" she translated.

Although he said nothing, he seemed to have understood it in English. She wondered about his language skills. Especially since his own name was French.

"Don't you know French, Young Master?"

He stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Of course I do, I just don't have the time to practice making up strange sentences I would never need to use!"

He stomped to the dictionaries and quickly picked two, which he gave to Sebastian to carry. She watched as he opened the yellowed and frayed pages. They must have been hardly used and sat on the shelves for millennia. Her master could have asked her for help instead of going through the troubles of a dictionary.

"Do you…do you need help?" She offered.

"No." Sebastian replied.

She obviously wasn't offering _him_ any help, and puffed her cheek in annoyance again.

"Instead of sitting here wasting time and ink, why don't you go make yourself useful and find the other servants to bother?" Sebastian smirked.

She hated his guts.

* * *

She went to the servants kitchens with a pile of dirty dishes to wash, carefully holding them to prevent any from dropping. She put them on the counter next to the sink and sighed, rolling up her sleeves and brushing bits of hair away from her face. She filled the sink with water boiling from the kettle nearby and plopped the dishes in. As she was watching, she saw Tanaka walking to her side, two empty tea cups in his hand. He stared at Merianna, the sink and then to the kettle.

"Oh…Tanaka…! W-W-Were you about to use that hot water for tea…?" She stuttered.

He replied with a small laugh.

"I'm…sorry…I'll fetch you more water…sorry…" She mumbled, leaving the dishes and drying her hands with her apron.

She took the kettle in her hands and opened the door that led to the pump for water. She felt something recoil when she opened the door. When it was fully open, a large man in a white suit kneeling on the floor held his face in his hands.

"Oh…I must have…opened the door…on your face…!" She realized. "I'm sorry...!"

She bent down and touched the stranger's shoulder. A static shock ran through her fingers, causing her to jump back with a small 'ow!'. The man rubbed the bridge of his nose, which had turned bright red from the collision with the door. Merianna realized that he too, had white hair, although it was pure white in contrast to her platinum shade. It seemed to complement the suit he wore, devoid of any dark permeating colours. When he recovered, he looked her up and down with a serious face before burying it behind a smile.

"You...Ul-"

"Merianna." She answered. "You must uh...forgive me, sir. I wasn't...err...aware that you were on the other side..."

She scratched her head awkwardly and curtsied, eager to get to the water pump and deal with this noble some other time. His eyes narrowed at her, no doubt he was angry, and he towered over her. She excused herself and side-stepped away, holding a hand up to cover the side of her face. She heard footsteps that were not hers behind her, he was trailing her with a steady gait.

_Oh no, he's going to get me in trouble!_ she lamented.

Merianna quickly reached the water pump and put the kettle down, hurrying to the pump and pushing it as hard as she could. He was still following her, stopping in front to watch. She kept her head down respectfully, as it was rude to meet eyes with someone of higher status. She willed him away in her mind, but he did not budge. The next best thing was to ignore him and stay silent.

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

Merianna took a while to consider if she should answer. If she didn't, her rudeness might be reported to her master, but she felt uncomfortable being pressured to talk by this strange man.

"...I'm new here..." she replied, perhaps he was familiar with the regular Phantomhive staff and was perplexed at her presence.

"Merianna, is it?"

She nodded, finally filling up the kettle. Just as she reached to grab its handle, the man grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from her. She didn't react, but stared dangerously at him. She wasn't allowed to hit someone of higher status, but she would if this man tried anything more. His gloved hands held hers, unwilling to let go.

"Ash Landers. Pleased to meet you. I work for the Queen, delivering her messages to The Majesty's Dog."

Now she really wasn't allowed to hit him. She tried to slip her hand away, but he hand a firm grip that almost hurt. Could she get away with kicking his shin and claiming it was an 'accident'? Merianna still wanted her head tightly bound to her shoulders, not rolling around a guillotine.

He continued. "You must have been surprised by my sudden appearance, young lady. I assure you that I will not harm you."

She was visibly uncomfortable with this man. "Sir...you must excuse me, to my chores." She muttered.

She held her free hand into her chest, already forming a fist with it. She was quietly dispelling her anger, although her inner mind still wanted to punch this man's face and run at the first chance she had. Ash's hand suddenly clamped the back of her head, as if he was pulling her in.

"Let me go!" She yelled.

A sudden crash behind them blew a loud wave of wind and crushed the earth underneath. Merianna was alarmed and closed her eyes at the wave, but when she opened them, she was glad to see Finny there, a hefty cord of wood on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Mr. Landers. I accidentally tripped and this bundle flew off my shoulders. I hope I didn't hurt you." He grinned.

He immediately let go of Merianna. "No, of course not." He muttered.

He coughed and headed back to the mansion. Once he let go, Merianna brought her arms back close against herself, feeling her heart beat like an overexercised cardiovascular organ. (lol) She told herself that it was over now to calm her frayed nerves and shuddered.

"Are you alright, Meri? He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Finny asked. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Finny. I don't know what he was after...but..."

She rubbed her shoulders and looked to the side. "He makes me um...he makes me..._tomber dans les pommes_...very uncomfortable...I'm not quite sure how to translate that."

He picked up the filled kettle for her. "I'll walk you back then."

* * *

Sebastian appeared at the doorway just as she put the kettle on the stove.

"Merianna, go take Pluto on a walk around the perimeter of the forest."

Merianna was left to find Pluto by herself while Sebastian left to go back to his master. She went around the hallways, trying to find the dog-man. She left the mansion to try to find him in the gardens. He was nowhere and she returned to the house, resolving to ask the other servants if they've seen him. Upon passing one room, she heard voices behind the slightly-ajar door. It was Ciel and Sebastian talking. She stood outside the door, wondering if she had to courage to ask for their help. No doubt they would think her stupid, but perhaps they've seen him.

"It seemed that all the possessions in the house are accounted for, Young Master."

"That's good." Ciel replied uninterestingly.

Were they talking about her?

"But we still cannot trust her. Think of her background...coming from the streets. She has quite a reputation there, half of the townspeople in the poor district call her a witch, and the others call her a little thief."

"Sebastian, that's enough." Ciel stated. "As long as she doesn't interfer with my work, she will be allowed."

Her heart leapt at his defending her. Although Sebastian was definetly her enemy now.

"According to her national document, she was born to an immigrant of a French...who came from Italy. That's a bit far...almost like her mother was running away from something. She arrived without a husband, and with child."

"Those circumstances are irrelevant." Ciel claimed.

Sebastian continued, reading from a long document. "And she was a suspect to the London police before. A suspect, but she was cleared of suspicion following an alibi provided by a Jake Hawkins. A Jake Hawkins that does not exist according to the records."

Merianna held her breath as Ciel Phantomhive could not dismiss that information. True, there were police who questioned her about a murder case in her youth, but she had never though they would suspect a child of murder. She suspected Sebastian of twisting his words to make Ciel suspicious of her. Did he hate her that much? She wanted to leave and ignore the whole situation. Just as she turned around, Pluto sat in front of her, leash in his jaws, and let out a sharp bark.

She panicked, her position given away. She whispered Pluto's name and hurried down the hall, beckoning him away from the room. Together, they ran down the stairs and outside. She gently pried the leash from his mouth, wiping the saliva off on her apron and leashed him. Despite her initial uncomfortableness with him, he seemed much more jovial and friendly to her now. He barked excitedly and started dragging her along the lawn. Even if she sat down and centered her weight, he would still be able to drag her small body along.

Eventually, he stopped and started rolling around in the grass, yanking the leash out of her hand. She watched and squat down beside him, head in her hand. She sighed, thinking about her future from now on. As long as her Young Master and her dear friends trusted her, she didn't need anything else. She reached out a hand and surprisingly, Pluto nudged his head underneath it, begging to be petted. She smiled and sat down, giving him a rough rub on his scalp.

"At least you aren't conspiring against me." She confided.

"No one is conspiring against you." came a voice.

She snapped her neck around to see the black-clad butler staring down at her with a cruel smile. She stayed quiet, but glared angrily at him. Insults were beginning to form inside her head, but she kept them inside for the sake of being polite.

"What are you even doing here?" He asked.

She resolved to ignore him and keep silent, focusing her attention on petting Pluto and straightening his bow. He replied with silence as well.

"He's my prey. Remember that." He warned.

As he turned to walk away, she couldn't help but blurt out a confused 'huh?' He stopped.

"I know your kind, vulgar species." He spat.

She gave a small 'hmph' and thought him pretentious.

_Species...? Kind...?_ It was like coming from the poorer districts made her a completly different species than him. Her mind clicked to his words again. Something in her memory told her something was wrong, but what? Was it his voice? No, that was just a distraction. Although she paid him no heed, she still kept an eye on him through her peripheral vision. Her hand shot up to her mouth when she realized the colour of his eyes changed. It changed from its usual cold, taciturn black to a demonic glimmer of red and yellow.

No human had eyes like that.

* * *

Merianna was on her toes while she stood beside Meirin and Bardroy, in attendence during her master's dinner. Although she was hardly moving from her spot, she expected her Young Master to call on her at any time. Or for Sebastian to suddenly turn into a hideous goat-demon and gobble them all up. Her hands turned white from clasping them so hard and she shrunk away, hoping to not be seen. Time passed by without any surprises, but she was still tense. Ciel Phantomhive finished his dinner and clapped his hands. The servants were all alerted and watched as he stood up from his chair. He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Elizabeth is having her debutante party this weekend, and she has been kind enough to extend the invitations to everyone in the Phantomhive household. I expect you all to behave yourselves..." He announced quietly.

"P-Party?!" Meirin squealed, "B-B-But, Young Master, we haven't even chosen anything to wear!"

The servants all had a mixture of surprised and excited faces. Especially Tanaka.

"That will all be taken care of...tomorrow." He replied.

* * *

Merianna quietly washed the dishes, handing them to Meirin to rinse and dry. Meirin was jittery with excitement and went on about the men she would meet there and the wonderful dresses she would wear. Merianna kept to herself, unsure of how such a high-class event would unwind. She wasn't that interested in a party after all. In fact, she was a bit anxious to be with so many upper-status people. Still, Meirin's enthousiasm had a contagious quality.

"Have you been to a party before, Meirin?" She whispered.

Perhaps she would have some tips on the etiquette required.

"Many, but never one as grand as a debutante party!" She exclaimed. "And at such a young age too!"

Merianna wasn't quite sure what a 'debutante' was. Her only experience with parties were the guests felt more generous than usual and it was very good picking for thieves. Still, she nodded her head slowly to reassure her friend.

Meirin laughed. "You know, you can just ask me if you need to know about parties and how to behave...!"

Merianna blushed with shame, but took the opportunity to ask questions from the kind of food served to the kind of people serving them. Although their conversations became lively, the dishes were even more sparkling than usual.

* * *

The next day, Merianna was sweeping the carpet in the front hall when a large knock interrupted her humming. She opened the door and a stout man with servants behind him carrying large boxes addressed her.

"I am assuming you are going to pay for the transportation fee for the fabrics as well?" He chirped. "Velvets and silks from the corners of the earth and our services are all yours!"

Although he seemed finely dressed and his hair was neatly trimmed, his upper-status, filthy-rich and i-hate-lowly-commoners aura had no effect on Merianna, who just stared at him strangely.

"...Are you here to see Young Master?" she asked, unsure of what else to say.

He sniffed as if that was an insult and shooed her away from the door. She relented, grasping her broom tightly in case they turned out to be bad intruders. Sebastian appeared and greeted the gentleman as a 'Mr. Tills' and showed him and his apprentices to the parlour. She thought about the situation for a moment, these strangers coming into the house with boxes of unknown things, but continued on with her work.

Minutes later, Ciel walked down from the upper floors. Merianna greeted him and bowed politely, stepping out of his way.

"Merianna, have the tailors come in yet?"

"Tailers? Of my knowledge, no one has been following us..." she replied warily.

He grumbled. "Tail_ors_, for the clothing measurements."

She still didn't understand, but he must have meant the men who entered earlier.

"Um...Mr...Tills and his servants are in the parlour..." she answered.

She led him to the parlour room and opened the door for him. Sebastian was apparently entertaining them with various stories while they munched on appetizers. Mr. Tills spotted him and asked him to fetch the head of the house. Merianna stifled a giggle before Ciel shot a glare at her and answered that he was already fetched.

Mr. Tills excused himself for his rudeness and shooed Merianna out of the room. Before she left, Sebastian ordered her to find Bardroy and Finnian, and to bring them to the parlour for their 'fittings' and 'measurements'. She started hearing her master's voice yelling and worrying noises, but she had an order to carry out and she intended to.

She found Bardroy in the kitchen as usual, chewing on a raw carrot to curb his cigarette 'addiction' as he called it. She wasn't sure what he meant, but as long as it didn't cause him to go into coughing fits, she approved.

"Sebastian wants to take your measurements to see if you fit in." she reported.

He asked her to repeat her news, which she did, adding in that they were in the parlour with tail_ors_. He laughed and patted her on the head, correcting her sentence for her and explaining what was happening.

Fittings were how they fit into clothes and suits. To get their size, they had to take various measurements for the hips, chest, waist and other places. She told him about Master Ciel's screaming and he replied that it was nothing to worry about if Sebastian was with him. Frowning, she bade him good luck and set off to find Finny.

* * *

"Have you though of what colour would suit you, Merianna?" Finny asked.

She walked back with him into the house after putting away the shears in the shed. They talked about the party, both of them equally anxious. Finnian though, had much more experience.

"Colour? For what?" she questioned.

He giggled. "Your dress, of course!"

"Dress...dress?!"

She stopped and looked at her own attire, feeling the fabric between her fingers.

"I can't wear this to the party?!"

He sighed and nodded. "It's a formal party, after all. You can't look like a maid when you're there..."

She once wore a dress, but she was so young then that the memory was akin to only reading a story about wearing dresses and never having worn one at all.

"I...I don't want to stand out...! I don't...attend parties..." she said shyly, poking her fingers together.

"It's okay, Merianna! We'll be there with you!"

* * *

Meirin had called Merianna to wait outside the parlour room with her, claiming that she had already cleaned the entire house while she was fetching the others. Tanaka was the last male to be dressed, although he didn't need a suit to make him anymore handsome than he was. Meirin waited excitedly, pacing around the front hall, asking Merianna what kind of colour they would pick and if she would have to wear any accessories and nick-nacks.

When the tailor and his apprentices finished up cleaning their fabrics, a new tailoress entered with her five or six apprentices. They took over the parlour room after a quaint greeting with Ciel and Sebastian. The apprentices were all swooning over Sebastian before Ms. Culloch, the tailoress, shooed them into the room with their boxes and finery.

Meirin excitedly took Merianna's wrist and joined them into the room. The apprentices were unpacking everything while Ms. Culloch looked them up and down, as if seeing if a pig was fit to eat. Merianna curtsied politely, Meirin stood perfectly still. Ms. Culloch instantely took hold of Merianna's arm and stretched it out, poking her biceps and elbows.

"A bit _lacking_." she clucked.

She moved to examine her neck and neckbones, critisizing how thin she was. Merianna only turned red in response. Living on the streets did not grant her any extra protection. She hoped the dress would not bee too revealing or difficult to handle. Ms. Culloch sniffed and moved to Meirin, who she complemented on her more womanly shape.

"Now then. Girls, undress them!"

The flouncy girls came over to Meirin and Merianna, eager to help them out of their clothes. Merianna shrieked that she could do it herself, swatting away their hands. She crept behind a folding screen and hurriedly got into her undergarments. Meirin seemed completely fine with being serviced with them and was undressed in the room.

While Merianna shyly hid behind the screen, she watched as Ms. Culloch took out a ribbon and held it around Meirin's hips, waist, arm and head.

"I think the _Rosa _palette would suit her." one apprentice giggled. "Her hair is very fine!"

The others agreed as Ms. Culloch stood back to examine her. She clapped and the smallest apprentice brought her a book, paper and a quill. Mrs. Culloch put on her glasses and looked down on the paper, asking for her name.

"Meirin." she replied curtly, spelling it out afterwards.

With a sharp dot, Ms. Culloch directed her stare at Merianna.

* * *

"Perhaps an _Icier _palette, madam."

"No, no! Her colours befit a _Sahara_!"

Merianna stood in the room, shivering slightly from the cold. The tailoress was having trouble selecting a theme for Merianna, mostly because of her long white hair. Only the debutate, she explained, was allowed to have an all-white dress. Any other palette would contrast her hair, not couplement her eyes enough, or make her seem sick. Not only the colour, but Merianna's lack of body shape had sent Ms. McCulloch into an irritating mood.

"This is impossible to do..." she sighed, defeated. "I will have a dress prepared from a new scheme completely."

She waved for her paper and quill again, brushing away a few strands that Merianna swore began to gray from the sheer stress. The moment Merianna stated her name, she saw Ms. Culloch's eyes widen a bit and nod as she wrote it, as if she had an idea from the inspiration of her name. With that over, she told the girls they could put their clothes back on and for her girls to start packing up. The two Phantomhive servants thanked the tailoress and her apprentices for their time and effort.

By the time everything was back to normal and the tailoress left, it was already dinner, and their meal awaited them in the servants quarters. It was only leftovers from Ciel's dinner, but there was enough for everyone. All of them squabbled about how handsome or pretty they would be in their new clothes.

"And then, Meri went bright pink when they told her to undress!" Meirin laughed.

"Meirin...! Don't tell them that!" She whined.

"Well, if we're lucky we'll have the design sent to us in two days...just in time for the hairdress to take a look at it when she comes too!"

Merianna almost fainted. The last lady had such a fuss with her hair, which she didn't see have any relevence to her clothing, but now there was to be a hairdresser too. One who would, undoubtably, question Merianna's hair colour and fuss over it.

"I think Young Master's should call an undertaker instead for me..." she sighed as she sunk into the chair.


	6. Coming Apart

During her time off, between her morning and evening chores, Merianna spent her time in the library glossing over books for information on debutante parties. Luckily her master had these guides and how-to instructionals on the shelves. She ran through the routines in mind when a knock sounded at the door. Meirin entered, with serveral sheets of paper. She laid them on the table, pulled out two chairs, and beckoned Merianna closer.

When she approached, she could see various sketches of dresses on mannequins. Charcoal sketches on a womanly shape drawn with ink, no doubt from a very rich person or company.

"Usually they send these to the master or mistress of the house and they pick what their servants wear," Meirin explained. "But Young Master will let us pick for ourselves!"

She started monopolizing through the sheets, looking at the dress themes and rejecting them into one pile or approving them into the next.

"Uh...haven't they chose our dresses already? From their previous visit?" Merianna asked.

Meirin shook her head. "It's not that easy! Ms. Culloch was deciding our palettes, the colours on the dress, but for the design of the dress itself, there has to be a unison concensus. The ones with 'Rosa' inscribed on the are the ones i pick from, and the ones with 'Sea', I'm guessing are meant for you."

Merianna picked up one with a blue 'Sea' on it, next to the figure. Ah, she thought. she must have come up with the colours after my name.

The two spent the afternoon away separating the papers, deciding on the outlook of the dresses and finally came to a consensus on one dress for each of them. Merianna prepare an envelope and enclosed the two they liked best, making a mental note to deliver it later on.

"How do you do? How do you do? How do you do?" Merianna whispered.

She was practicing her small conversations under her breath while she brushed the front hall with a broom. She had much to memorize from the books and had to practice having small conversations with higher gentry and possibly providing entertainment. Or maybe she was just reading too much into the event.

"L-Lovely weather for a ball...How is your family?...Is that so?"

It was late evening and she had already suffered through an examination with the hairdresser, who seemed infuriated at her 'dyed' white hair and despite Merianna's objections that it was indeed natural, threatened to dyed it brown or yellow. She wasn't allowed to, of course, but the two women got into a fierce arguement that was luckily toned down by Meirin.

Merianna's feet glided over the carpet and floor, practising the 'box waltz' steps the book had shown her...if she ever was invited to dance with aristocracy. Even if she did not dance at the debutante party, it was still fun to learn. At early morning, the hairdresser and tailoress would return and spend all day trimming them and dressing them up to be in time for the party.

Her right foot knocked against the broom and she fell on the floor painfully. She was naturally light on her feet, her whole body was naturally light. But that didn't mean she was particularly agile on her feet.

"Mamma said...to smile...even when you're scared." She reassured herself.

Deep within her, pushed to the furthest part of her mind, was the small fear of failure in public and humiliating the Phantomhive name. If her street-rat past didn't do that at the ball, she was sure her commoner behaviour would. She practiced and practice, and each time she placed a solid step in the right direction, the fear diminished. But as the past could not leave her, neither did the fear. She forced a smile on her face.

Ciel Phantomhive was very anxious for the ball, not only for himself, but for his servants. He could not control whether or not they would do something idiotic and humiliate themselves, whether intentionally or not. Feeling thirsty, he figured he could walk down and get a glass of water for himself. Before he went to bed, he ordered Sebastian to carry out an assassination order from the Queen.

The man was suspected of attending parties as a noble and hiring men to kidnap young ladies there after the party had ended, and Ciel wanted him gone before Elizabeth's debutante ball. Sebastian had still not returned, it seemed.

As he walked down the front hall towards the kitchen, he saw a figure in the darkness. Freezing, he set the candle holder he had in his hands on the drawer nearby. Apparently he was not noticed yet. As his eye adjusted to the darkness, he made out white hair and a book beside the figure. Merianna. She was sitting down, head limp and several books sat beside her, open in half.

"Merianna. What are you doing awake at this hour?"

She didn't reply. Ciel grumbled and set down the stairs with the candle holder for light.

"Are you drawing your maps and pirate ships again?"

When he shook her shoulder, there was no response, so Ciel kneeled down in front of her. Her head was limp and her eyes were closed. He gave an annoyed grumble. Meirin had warned him that Merianna often did things in her sleep that she herself was not aware of, but he did not believe her. She was muttering something too, but he could not make out the words.

Ciel took one of the books and read it in the candlelight. It was a book on the expected behaviour at balls, another about how to converse with gentry and arisocracy and various other materials. He decided to let her there and not disturb her...'sleep'. He got up and headed to the kitchen.

He fetched a mug from the cabinet and looked around for any source of water. There was a wooden bucket with water in it, although he was not sure if that was safe to drink or not. Ciel, angry with himself for not being able to fetch water, resolved to wake Merianna up and order her to fetch water for him.

When he returned to the front hall, Merianna was standing up now, but seemingly still asleep.

"Risado sirscunus..." she said.

"What?"

She had something in her hand. Suspicious, Ciel stayed put, concealing himself halfway behind a pillar holding up the balcony above. A light shone from her, so bright that he had to cover his eyes.

"Dris-satu"

When he opened them, several dark objects were lifted from the book, circling around Merianna who was still shining yellow. The room felt warmer, like an invisible ball of plasma gas and chemical reactions was in the centre of the room. Small specks of light were being emmited from her and in the light, Ciel could make up the dark things. They were words, forming sentences that spiralled around Merianna.

They drew in closer and closer until they wrapped around her like chains. They disappeared upon contact with her skin and the light was beginning to fade as well. Ciel wasn't sure what he saw, but he had more suspicions of Merianna now. Perhaps Sebastian was right.

Speak of the devil, and he will come.

Sebastian was suddenly in from of the doors that led to outside. Ciel must not have noticed him there. And he as well, was watching the sight.

"As I thought, I felt something different when those thieves broke into the house. Although I'm not sure what you intend to do...Let us talk, shall we?" He offered.

When Sebastian took a step forward, the books on the ground flew towards him, crashing lightly on the wall behind him. A warning. Merianna took another thing from her skirt, replacing the other she held in her hand. Ciel could see now it was a card or other paper material. Although she did not do anything more, Sebastian frowned.

"Those don't have the scent of holiness. In fact, quite the opposite." He commented.

"Risado sircusnus."

Merianna opened her eyes and a smile spread on her face.

"Satu"

Something broke out on Merianna's back. There were sounds of cracking, like a giant invisible being had cracked all the knuckles in its body all at once. White feathered wings appeared. Ciel gasped, feeling like he'd seen angel wings somewhere before. But unlike an angel, Merianna had two sets, resulting in four wings sprouting from her back.

When she recovered, her eyes were aimed at Sebastian.

"Senna ayru-sis vei haneik..._Sebastian_"

"What kind of angel has four wings and speaks _that_ sort of dialect?" He said, instinctively getting out the silverware and branding them.

She lifted up her arms and suddenly the chandelier above them shook, the glass on it tinkling. It freed itself from the ceiling and dropped down. Before it crashed on Merianna, it transformed and landed on its paws. A gold, black and transparent monster stood in front on her and roared at Sebastian. It was a sphinx, formed from the chandelier and given life.

Sebastian threw his first set at the monster, and although it pierced into its face, it seemed null to the pain and swung a paw at him, forcing him to take a leap back.

"Who are you?" Sebastian demanded.

"Sh..Ch...Sher...Sheryiat..." she replied, as if she could not pronounce words right. "Chyariet."

"Chariot." Sebastian completed.

The sphinx suddenly opened its mouth and its eyes glowed red, turning right to where Ciel was hiding. Sebastian and Merianna also turned to where it pointed. Once, Merianna's blank eyes and Ciel's met, sh dropped to the ground, the four feathered wings foling back into her. Sebastian only smirked.

"I told you, she was unnatural. No wonder her body was so light. No wonder her hair is the colour of an unripe peach. No wonder she became so attached to you..."

Ciel stepped out from the pillar, and the sphinx shrunk back. It made a crackling sound as it leapt up and in the blink of an eye, became a chandelier again.

"So what is she? I'v never seen an angel...human or...demon...like that."

Sebastian shook his head. "I cannot tell either..."

When Merianna woke up, she was surprised to see that she was in bed, but in her normal wear. She couldn't recall going to bed, but figured she was so tired that she fell asleep without even changing. Her hair seemed like a mess and she had to brush it multiple times before braiding it up. Her back ached, like after her adventures with Meirin and recovering from Cuff's hit to her forehead. She blamed it on sleeping with an apron still on. Judging by the daylight, it must have been morning, although none of the servants were up. She figured that she would try cooking breakfast today, steming from her experience of watching Bardroy do it...

She was surprised the eggs came out so well, but she wasn't sure if they were always as crunchy as she made them. She just hoped the slightly-burnt meat made up for it. Halfway through the cooking, she realized that she forgot to add butter or oil, opting for a bit of water instead. That was okay though, the small fire that followed should have negated the sogginess.

The heavy door to Bardroy's room opened and he stepped out, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Good morning." She greeted, adding the last of egg to the sixth plate.

"Mornin'" He replied, coming to glance at the breakfast she made."Ah, you know how to cook!"

She laughed. "I learned from watching you, mostly. I felt as if I could do it today instead."

He gave her a thumbs up and bussed the meals to the table, getting the silverware while Merianna cleaned up the grease.

"Hey, Snowy. Why'd you make eight plates?" He asked, eyeing the small portions on the many plates.

"O-one for each person." She answered. "There's...Master Ciel, Sebastian, Tanaka, You, Meirin, Finnian, Pluto and I!"

He laughed and doubled over, clenching his stomach from laughing so hard. She puffed her cheek up and gripped the spatula, confused and annoyed with how hard he was laughing.

"It's okay, Merianna. Sebastian usually cooks Young Master's breakfast earlier in the upstairs kitchen, not the servants kitchen, and Tanaka gets up when the sun rises to make his own. All you needed to cook were my, Meirin's, Finny's and yourself's!" He explained.

"It looks like we have double what's needed, but that's okay." He added.

He shoved one plate's food onto another with a fork, combining them.

"More food for us-hey why are there eggshells in this?!"

The females were dressed in the parlour room with Ms. Culloch, her daughter and fifteen assistants along with the hairdresser, Mrs. Chevaux, her machines and tools, and her five apprentices. Merianna swore her face resembled a horse. (french puns indeed) The men were dressed in the study, with less people fussing over them. Young Master was dressed in his room, by Sebastian. Everyone was swarming over the house, calling for fabric, soaps and perfumes.

Merianna was just being introduced to a corset. She protested that she could put it on herself, even if she didn't know how, but the assitants laughed and told her it needed a helper. The corset fit tightly over Merianna's chest and she didn't understand why Meirin was grumbling and panting over it. Ms. Culloch examined the corsetted Merianna, as if there was a problem with it.

"It is not that she requires a corset, but she needs a **full** corset, ladies!"

They grabbed Merianna's arms and started stuffing fabric inside the corset so that there was greater contrast between her bust and waist. Now she could see why Meirin was having such a hard time. The apprentices helped Merianna put on a white gown, simple and flowing. They stopped her before she opened the parlour door.

"No, miss!" they cried. "You aren't finished yet!"

Confused, she let herself be dragged back in. That was only the second layer of the hundreds of layers that were about to be put on. It was getting stuffy in the room with people dashing in and out, or perhaps it waws just the numerous dresses, frocks, petticoats and chemises being put on her. Meirin seemed to be in the same situation as well; the assistants were busy strapping a wire cage around Meirin. It looked alarming to Merianna, but Meirin seemed calm with it. In fact, there was a red blush forming on her face as if she were enjoying herself.

Ms. Culloch came around with a purple-ish new object she called a 'bustle'. Apparently it was gaining in popularity and she wanted to try it on Merianna first. It would, as she put it, give Merianna a fuller look. Merianna thought it just made her butt look big.

"Erhm...thank you, Ms. Culloch...for the wonderful design...the sea..." She said.

Ms. Culloch held her head high in regard as she added the last of the fine material and helped Merianna into her lace opera gloves. Meirin, on the other side of the room, insister she keep her glasses on, her hairstyle the way it was ('or Young Master won't recognize me!'and the golden chain around her neck.

Sighing, the hairdresser turned his attention to Merianna. She pulled and tugged at her braid until it burst open and the long white strands flew out. Merianna flatly refused to wear a wig, saying that only nobility and gentry should have them. She sat on a stool while the hairdresser applied clips, bows and even several cuts to her hair. She even had an fire-heated iron tool she claimed would make Merianna's hair wavy, although Merianna wasn't sure if she could trust it. Meirin was done and left the parlour earlier than she did, and Merianna hoped that she was having a much better time than her.

The hairdresser, Mrs. Chevaux, next took out a brush and opened a container of red powder. Merianna asked if that was red shoe polish, which sent her into fits of chuckles. She explained that it was rouge, it was a cosmetic to make her cheeks more rosy. Merianna had to keep herself from squinting or wiping off the powder as it was applied to her face. She was now very annoyed and vowed to never attend another party. This was getting ridiculous.

Mrs. Chevaux had spent many hours tying together Merianna's hair. She wanted it to look exquisite and contrast her dress with ribbons.

Finally, Mrs. Chevaux took out a beautiful necklace adorned with glimmering pearls. She and Ms. Culloch collaborated on the Phantomhive dresses and figured that Ms. Culloch could lend her a pearl necklace to complete the look. Although it was very pretty, Merianna quietly refused it.

"Oh, don't be so fussy, dear!" she squawked. "It would complete the theme of your dress, the Sea!"

Under her breath she huffed. "That's what he said too..."

Merianna really did not want to wear that, but in the end she relented and let it be put on her neck, promising to take care of it and to have it returned.

The hardest part was getting into the carriage. Her and Meirin's dresses were so huge they had to have two carriages. Despite anyone else knowing, she snuck her pack of tarot cars into her dress, tying it around the ribbon around her waist. It ended up that Merianna would have to cram in with Ciel in his carriage while Sebastian drove. Following them was Bardroy and Merianna, with Tanaka driving theirs. Finny simply hung onto Meirin and Bardroy's carriage.

While Ciel sat non-chalently on his seat, Merianna's face was plastered on the glass pane of the carriage, watching as people started lighting up the lamps on the road and other carriages with rich looking ladies and men stode by.

"You look nice, Master Ciel." she complimented.

He didn't reply, but she saw a twitch in his mouth. He was clothed in dark blue and black. Straight bows and a beautiful cane added to his childish gentleman aura. She tried to stop herself from giggle, but failed a little. Merianna wondered if Mr. Tills made his costume from the sky. If he did, he missed. By a lot. She noticed he had a bouquet of roses, lillies and carnations on his lap and he carried them silently.

The carriage finally stopped with a jolt and Sebastian leapt off the front, opening the door. Merianna sat still and waited for her master to exit first.

"Ladies first." Ciel said, motioning his palm to the door.

"I-I! But I-I'm no lady...!" she gushed, clasping her hands to her cheeks.

No one would move, so she stepped out first, wobbly in her dress. She felt a hand grab hers and was surprised to see Sebastian holding her up. She stepped down, handing bringing up her skirt a little. When she landed on the ground, Serbastian let go and she thanked him...under her breath.

"Don't do that." He said.

She gave a hmph and rebuffed. "I didn't ask you to take my gratitude anyways."

"I meant lifting up your skirt. To do so in public is considered scandalous."

She held a hand to her face, facepalming herself before such a gesture existed, muttering an apology. He turned to help Ciel down from the carriage. She looked around to see if there was Tanaka driving his along, but there was none. They were still a little from the mansion, but there were less carriages here. The night was starting to get cold.

"Have you got a little change, mistress? 'Be grateful for anythin you gots." a boy said.

Once again she recognized him and backed away without a word, holding a hand to her forehead as she remembered their last meeting. Suddenly, Sebastian held a hand before her.

"Is this man bothering you?" He asked.

She held a hand over her neck, as if to conceal the pearl necklace she wore.

"N-No...not at all." she mumbled.

"Sebastian, Merianna! Let's go." Ciel called. "The others will meet us in the castle."

They hurriedly left on foot to the Midford mansion. Once they got there, Sebastian and Merianna waited for Ciel to enter solitarily. A strong voiced announced that the Earl of Phantomhive had arrived. In the distance, Merianna identified four figures as her friends walking up towards them.

"Young Master had ordered me to keep an eye on you so as to not cause problems. As far as I can tell, you've made many mistakes already." He said.

She tightened her fists and looked away, muttering an 'unbelievable'. As soon as she could, she would be like paint and stick to the walls, away from Sebastian, for the whole ball. He suddenly grabbed her arm and led her in.

The same solid voice asked them their names and titles in a qhisper before screaming out the arrival of the Phantomhive servants Merianna and Sebastian. Merianna knew this part, she was going to walk straight to the hostess and Lady Elizabeth and greet them before mingling with the crowd. But knowledge had nothing to do the the gripping tension in her legs. She stayed there, unmoving and sweating hard before she felt an arm curve under hers and pull her forward.

She hated Sebastian, but for this once she was grateful with his help in dragging her on. She smiled and shuffled forward nervously. Elizabeth's eyes sparkled upon seeing them and she and her mother stepped forward. She had the bouquet Ciel had in her arms.

"How are you, Lady Midford?" Sebastian started, kissing her hand.

He next turned to Elizabeth, repeating his sentence. Merianna curtsied, very low to Lady Midford.

"How...How do you do...?" She said, in a quiet voice.

She nodded before Merianna turned to Elizabeth.

"You look lovely, Lady Elizabeth." she said, smiling and taking her hand.

She took a small bunch of flowers from her pocket. On the walk to the mansion she snatched them from a nearby bush, just as Ciel had a bouquet. Although hers was much smaller and less fancy.

"B-Baby's Breath." she whispered.

Elizabeth blushed as she accepted the gift. Hurriedly being pushed away by Sebastian, she bowed her head and mingled with the crowd.

"Why did you do that?" Sebastian hissed.

She swatted his hand away and he stopped pushing her away from the hostesses.

"Well...Master Ciel had a bouquet, and so did a couple others arriving here. I did not want to be rude so I gave her some flowers as well."

Merianna though it was rude in some way...perhaps because of her lower station, or the fact that they were not wrapped up in paper. The small bouquet of Baby's Breath was only tied with a bit of wire she found.

"My, my." He sighed. "Only family and potential suitors bring the debutant bouquets of flowers, Merianna. Po-ten-tial suit-ors."

Merianna held a gloved hand over her mouth. She only wanted to seem nice to the family...

Ciel and his butler went to greet the other nobility, as was his duty to do during balls. Although he seemed to have enjoyed himself when he asked Elizabeth for a dance, spinning her away from the other (much older) suitors. Tanaka went to converse to others as well, having a great standing among the gentry. Bardroy had gone to grab some food and Finny was nowhere to be seen. Only Meirin and Merianna stood near the pillars and walls, although frequently, men would come and ask Meirin for a dance or offer her a drink. Merianna stayed close to the wall, like the Ghost-Walker she was.

When she was practising her steps, she did not account for the dress overflowing over her feet and was embarrassed in case she would trip or step on her partners shoes. Behaviour and rules in high society was much too strict and demanding for her tastes too. Earlier, she had found a fan on the ground and now she was opening and closing it, admiring the feathers and black lace on it, fanning the air around her. It seemed more like a child's toy than an accessory for nobility. She heard that the Queen arrived earlier, but went to rest a while in one of their guest rooms before joining in the festivities.

A butler came up to her and gently tapped her shoulder.

"Her Majesty, The Queen, request you in the chamber upstairs." he whispered.

She nodded and followed him through the crowd and up the staircase. Hoping that she was not drawing attention to herself. The butler motioned to the room and bowed before leaving. It looked like he was tense and left in a hurry, not even knocking on the door for her. Just about as she was going to raise her knuckles to rapt at it, it opened.

Ash Landers stood there and beckoned her in. The Queen, veiled and in her mourning dress, stood up from her chair. Merianna panicked and curtsied as low as she could, wobbling a bit on her knees when she rose. She could not mess up now.

"Y-Your Majest-Majesty...!" she stuttered.

Ash brought Merianna a chair as she sat down on it and faced the Queen. She sat on the edge of the bed, clasping her hands together perfectly. Merianna dug her fingers into her dress and sat with her back straight.

"Ash tells me wonders about you." She said.

Her voice was much gentler and soothing than Merianna expected. Before she could answer, Her Majesty put a hand on her veil and lifted it off, revealing a young face and greying hair with sad eyes.

"Tell me, Merianna. What is wrong with this face of mine? Go on, be honest."

Merianna looked at her face. There was nothing wrong.

"There's nothing wrong, Your Majesty." she answered truthfully.

She laughed and clapped her hands together.

"Perfect, perfect!" she exclaimed.

She composed herself again and held her clasped hands over her heart.

"Ash tells me that you are special, Merianna. Did you know that?" She asked.

Merianna shook her head, looking down at the Queen's feet.

"I want to see it too...for the future of England..."

"E-Excuse me...your Highness?"

"Ash!" She commanded. "Please lead Merianna out to the ball. She should enjoy herself as much as she can."

"With pleasure, your Majesty."

Merianna quickly stood up from the seat, as stiff as ever as Ash led her out of the room, closing it behind him. They walked together across the balcony, and the sudden bright lights hurt Merianna's eyes after being in the Queen's dark, closed off room. Although Merianna didn't want to, she kept her mouth shut about not wanting to walk with Ash. At the bottom of the stairs, he bowed to her and went back up, presumably to attend to the Queen.

She sighed and turned back to the dance hall. She loved the music playing by the musicians and went over to watch them play. Shining brass and polished wood greeted her as the music swam through her mind. Although she did not recognize the piece, she complimented the composer in her mind. Her gazed shifted from the violin, a reminder of her first meetings with her master to the trombones and piano and the cello, a reminder of...

She reached a hand to her neck and felt the pearl necklace enfused with her own body heat. Perhaps she needed a bit of air. As she moved past the people dancing, she saw a glimpse of Meirin happily waltzing with a handsome man and even Tanaka being swirled around by a lovely woman. She was careful to use her Ghost-Walker skills to maneuover around them without even leaving a breeze.

Merianna stepped out onto the balcony, and the temperature suddenly dropped. Not many people volunteered to get away from the central place to get some fresh air. Merianna didn't feel like dancing in such an uptight place. A couple men drunk with the wine in their hands laughed as they clapped each other on the shoulder before exiting the balcony, leaving her with it alone. She sighed and looked up at the crescent moon and stars.

The moon looked like a sideways smile, and Merianna tilted her head so that she could smile back at it. Mamma always said that things lost and things unknown were found on the recalled. Sighing, she rested her head on the cool, stone railing. A bout of laughter echoing from below caught her attention. It seemed as if a group of butlers below were playing a game on the lawn, as they were in a circle, and then a line. Several boxes and balls were strewn around.

Merianna squeezed back amongst the crowd and found the front door.

The boys all stopped once Merianna arrived, panting for air. Usually she would have been fine running across a lawn, but the corset made it very difficult to breath.

"Aw, shit. Looks like we've been caught..." one of the boys said.

"Yeah, yeah, Miss. We'll get you another glass o' champagne."

They stuffed their hands into their pockets and made for the door, grumbling and moaning.

"W-Wait!" she called. "I want to play with you."

Merianna could handle boys. She had grown up with boys as friends. Her only problem was the big dress she had on that got in the way of the potatoes races and kicking the balls. Despite her fancy and uptight appearance, the young butlers had to admit that she had a good kick and solid reaction timings. She obviously lost at Blindman's Wand, being the only girl and unable to disguise her voice efficiently. Tired of her short-breathness, she reached below her neckline and pulled out the stuffing and fabric from under the corset, to the awkwardness of the males around her.

"Let's play Pass the Ring!" a boy named Friedrick shouted.

She asked them for the rules, which they explained. They would be passing a ring around in a circle, and the one in the centre would have to guess who held it. The trick is that the others would make hand gestures as they passed it on the confuse the person. The boys and Merianna all assembled and a young lad named Marco was sent to the centre.

Merianna pinpointed the ring's location and watched it as it past through clumsy, greasy and into her hands. She passed it along as subtely as she could, sliding it into the boy's pocket next to hers. The game continued on, and Marco was beginning to seem worried and was biting his fingernails.

"Hey, I haven't seen the ring around for a while, Who's got it?" A voice shouted.

No one seemed answer, opening their hands to show no counterfeit.

"Okay...who had it last?" Marco yelled.

"I did!" Merianna answer. "I gave it to him next! In his pocket."

The boy next to her frowned and dug into the pocket of his trousers, amazed when he produced the golden, ruby-studded ring. The round of boys all laughed and so did Merianna. Suddenly, an angry voice from the balcony yelled out.

"You lazy ingrates! Get your butts back in here!"

The boys muttered and the one next to her shoved the ring into her hands before running off into the mansion. She confusingly glanced at the ring. Surely it was much too expensive to be given away as a gift? She sighed as she sat alone on the grass, wishing that she would have someone else to play with her.

"So that really is you."

She turned to see Cuffs, pressing his face against the bars of the fence.

"I could hardly recognizes you!" He exclaimed.

She clenched the ring in her hands. No way was she letting him pick that out from her.

"What do you want, Jake?" she growled.

He backed off, raising his hands up defensively.

"Woah, are we onto real names now, Ghost-Walker-Blood-Eyes?" he retorted. "Or should I say, _Lady_ Ghost-Walker?"

She stayed silently, turning away from him angrily. It was always his sacastic tone that annoyed her the most. It wasn't her choice to atten the party, and she didn't even want to. She did like the dress and magical aura though.

"I just came by to enjoy the after-party." He continued.

She wanted to chuck the ring at his face. Maybe it was hard enough to make his head start bleeding. But it was much too pretty.

"Say, that there ol' necklace ain't yours, is it?" He said.

"If you must know, it was_ given_ to me." she spat back.

Obviously it made a cut into him.

"So you choose to wear that one, and not the one I gaves you?"

"I said it before...I don't **want** to wear something stolen."

A cool breeze blew across the area, it neither put or or fanned the heated flames between them. When she looked back up at him, he quietly stalked away. If there was anything lost on the moon, perhaps Jake Hawkins would have been found there.


	7. Locking In

"So I tells him, why 'sit you gots to be so stingy? It's just a couple of meats." Merianna recalled. "It's just gonna end up being the rats'."

She laughed and almost fell onto Finny.

"Merianna, are you sure you haven't had too much?" He whimpered.

She shook her head, as well as the glass flute in her hands. She muttered a 'can never have too much of a good thing' and drank it down. She leaned back on the divan set out for the guests. Sebastian had come by earlier, muttering a 'my, my' upon seeing Merianna's state. She replied with a heavy stomp on his foot and a 'lighten up, friend'. He promised her revenge.

"M-Maybe you want to dance? It might clear your head." Finny suggested.

He got to his feet and extended a hand out to invite her, his boyish grin showing. She smiled and took it, being pulled up and onto her feet. She had been practicing her steps, although her practice-dancing-partner was much skinner and didn't seem to mind when she trod on his bristles. Nervously, she tried to focus on her feet. Finny didn't seem to mind. So far, he had no injury, but the dancing seemed slow and too stiff.

"Don't become too self-consious about your steps. Look up here." He advised her.

She tried to keep her eyes on Finnian's face, grimacing as she felt a shoe underneath hers and muttered an apology. She did better when she could watch her steps. Eventually, she felt the flow of the dance and with the lovely music, was swinging out with more fluidity than before. The song ended and the partners bowed and curtsied to each other.

"I didn't know you danced so well." Finny said, effectively delivering a compliment.

"I learned from a book. I'm surprised I did that well too...It's like I learned it overnight!" She laughed.

Suddenly, Ciel and Sebastian appeared in front of them.

"Do you still want to sail the seas, Merianna?" he asked.

She looked at him with a quizzical look, but nodded.

He stepped aside and a Chinese man in a long green robe stepped forward. His eyes seemed to be closed, but focused on Merianna. Behind him was a beautiful girl with a pink flower on her styled hair who starerd at her in silence.

"This is one of my clients, Lau. He comes from that country you were drawing." Ciel introduced.

Merianna stood up and took his hand, shaking it excitedly.

"Uh...Uh...! N-Nice to meet you! I'm...I'm Merianna!" she greeted.

She wanted to ask him what kind of creatures came from his hometown, if there indeed were ships that travelled across land and magnificent buildings that sat atop the clouds. However, she contained herself.

"So you're really serious about this, are you?" Lau asked.

She nodded her head with zeal.

"You know that there's no way to back out...once you're in..."

She stayed silent.

"And whatever trouble happens to you...life will go on. A Chinese philosophist once said...the bird that spreads its wings against arrows will have no chance flying between them..."

She was now a bit intimidated by this man. His tone of voice and frowning face was not a good impression.

"So, what is it we're talking about?" He suddenly burst.

"...Lau...!" Ciel grumbled.

Suddenly, a strong gale rushed into the room through the front doors. Nothing stood there, yet the room went eerily quiet. A man in black garb walked in. He had a black blindfold over his eyes and a long beard. The only splotch of colour was a red cravat tied around his neck. He bowed before the people, who murmured suspiciously. The man seemed to be in a strange garb, one not of european design.

"W-What's happening?" Finny whimpered.

The man walked his way to where the musicians were, people getting out of his way. He took hold of the pianist and threw him aside. He yelled and fell onto the floor in a heap. Cracking his knuckles, he slammed his wormy fingers on the keys. Merianna wasn't sure what came first, the huge shockwave of a note she couldn't hear, or the darkness coming to envelop her.

* * *

Sebastian took his hands off of his master's ears.

"That was dangerous, Young Master. He is no normal person." he warned.

"Correct, Mr. Butler!" Lau cheered. "That technique originates in a country close to mine."

"Elizabeth!" Ciel cried.

"No worries, Earl. It only knocks out people, that one wave."

He pulled a wad of cotton out of his ears, Ran-Mao doing the same.

"The second ones...usually kill the ears of whoever is listening..."

Everyone around them was knocked out cold and sprawled everywhere. Suddenly, a heavy crack sounded from the front door and the same black bandits ran inside. They were clothed in all black except for a splash of red somewhere on their chest.

"Those people again!" Ciel grumbled. "Sebastian, this is an order! Stop these thieves and that pianist!"

"Yes, my Lord."

Sebastian stepped out in clear view of the blind pianist, kicking over the unconcious body of the Earl of Sandwich (...google it...). The shockwave he sent bursted the piano open, the strings and mallets open for the strange warrior. Sebastian got out the silverware, as always, and threw them at him. The pianist ran to the side of the piano and plucked the strings with his fingers. The knives thrown at him were blown back by a wave of sound.

Behind him, Lau and Ran-Mao were taking care of the bandits, delivering powerful kicks and hits. Sebastian had to deal with the pianist. It was hard to maneuover with all the bodies around him. Suddenly, he felt a prick behind him and heard his master's voice.

He looked back to see Merianna standing up again, limp. Ciel pointed a finger at her and commanded her to help Sebastian. She muttered something, probably the incantation like the night before. Suddenly, her hand flew up and slammed onto Ciel's head, grabbing his face.

"Shut up, little child." He made out, although he was sure the other humans heard garbled noises.

He wasn't even sure if his mind translated the dialect corrrectly, but Sebastian was curious to see what she would do.

* * *

Number 9 heard an order by the Empress to take hold of the mortal body. Merianna had called them all out with the incantation, and it was number 9 that chose to react first. The mission he set out was to clear all those unwanted bodies out. He forced his name out through Merianna's lips.

"Nafuru"

The Hermit took charge of Merianna now. He focused his energy on the sole reason he was who he was. He wanted everyone out. He wanted those unwanted to be out of the area. It seemed that Merianna was in a heavily populated place, and he needed much more power. He found the core of Merianna's powers and opened them. The sound of knuckles crackling erupted the air as her wings unfolded and spread out, drawing in more power for the Hermit.

He pushed the souls of everyone away, the ones unconcious from the sound. Only able to leave the concious ones. 3 humans that Merianna knew, one human she recognized as a bad one, 16 humans she did not recognize and one demon. One demon she hated. There were more on the outside of his ability too, though he could sense them. One human with the scent of death on it, and one being she felt a static shock with.

With that, he retreated back into the deck with his associates. One other was pushing his way through with a 'let me deal with the rest'. It was number 1, determined that he could help Merianna. It was an order by the Empress, so the Magician couldn't help it. He, too forced his name out.

"An"

* * *

"Look at that." Ash whispered. "Look at what she can do."

"Quite entertaining, Ash. What exactly is she?" the Queen applauded.

"...I've only ever seen one other angel with wings like that...and she was a mutant, thrown out of heaven."

They watched as the bandits tried to grab at her, only to be hit with the flaming morningstars. Her dress was ripped and some were eaten away by the flames. Her hair was free of the complicated plaits and ties only to fly around and give her the appearance of a frightening witch. Only one morningstar would be swinging around the angel at a time, but every time it latched onto an attacker, it separated and another would appear. They stuck like burrs on the bandits, and hurt even if they weren't on fire. The fire only melded the metal spikes onto their body.

Ciel was standing to the side of course, watching his two servants battle it out. Lau and Ran-Mao stood by, occasionally knocking away various thugs.

Sebastian was dealing with the pianist, who could shoot various waves of air vacuums by plucking the piano strings. Both were at a standstill. All knives that Sebastian could shoot were deflected by the waves, and all waves were stopped by his amazing dodging skills. They tried again to gain a hit on each other, this time the knife was deflected and shot right at Ash.

It cut a bit of his hair, and he grimaced with annoyance.

"How terribly clumsy of me," Sebastian chuckled. "To almost let a poor defenceless bystander be hurt."

Ash took the challenge and jumped down beside him, brandishing his golden rapier. The pianist looked around, and sniffed the air. He smiled and stared at Ash, apparently happy that he was now outnumbered. Sebastian took the lead and charged at the pianist, taking him by surprise.

The pianist was familiar with the last element of the periodic table (element of surprise yo) and slid his fingers along the strings, producing a high-pitched screech that made everyone stop and clap their hands over their ears. He then took the pianist bench between his legs and kicked it at Sebastian. It collided and sent him crashing against the wall.

"Sebastian! Stop playing around!" Ciel commanded.

He wiped the blood from his lips and watched as Ash was trying to dispell the sound waves with his rapier. _Idiot_, he thought, _those kinds of swords are not meant to be swung_. And he was right. Ash's golden blade flew out of his hands and clattered on the tile floor a distance away. The pianist ran his hands along the strings and played a beautiful but deadly melody. Sebastian could see the blades of wind being sent towards him and Ash. They leapt out of the way, but the floor and walls were sliced, sporting a scar shaped dent in them.

Only Merianna didn't seem bothered, as she grabbed up a bandit with a flaming morningstar stuck to his leg. It was a strength she did not have normally. The bandit was choking on her vice-like grip, begging to be let go.

"Merianna! Do something!" Ciel said.

She was doing something, something that seemed trivial. She stepped towards the pianist, holding the bandit in front of her and she closed her wings as tight against her body. The pianist fired wind blades from the piano. Using the man as a shield, she stepped closer and closer to engage in close combat. The man screamed as the wind blades were tearing at his body, twitching and struggling aginst the hold.

"Hah, that's quite resourceful." Lau commented.

When she was close enough, she pushed the dead corpse forward, crashing into the piano. Wooden pieces and metal were flung out, and Merianna continued hurling morningstars at the dust cloud.

"Hey, don't you think that's enough?" Sebastian said, landing beside her.

"vicardi hen, flusak weyar" she replied.

She jumped back just as piano wires were whipped, shooing away the dust and debris. Sebastian was caught in the attack, but it only tore a small cut into his glove.

"It appears we still have work to do."

He looked back at Merianna, and the flaming morningstars and her wings were gone. She stood there, head limp, like she died standing up. By then, Ash had grabbed his rapier and was on the attack once more, thusting it at the pianist. The pianist had made a cat-o-nine-tails with the strong piano wires and whipped them viciously in his right hand. The other hand had piano wires tied to his fingers as whips.

"I don't suppose you play cricket in your country." Sebastian said.

He picked up a morningstar left smoking and on the ground and flung it at the pianist. Although the piano wires would effectively tear against human...or demon...or angel...flesh, it was much too weak against metal. The pianist could only dodge as a suddenly rain of fourty-two spiked balls were being chucked at him, each creating its own little nest in the walls or wherever it landed. He caught one in his thigh and fell mercy to the others that grabbed the side of his head and arms.

"Humph. Beaten by the Phantomhive butler once again." Ash muttered as he sheathed his rapier.

He turned to Merianna and waved a hand in front of her face. No response. Sebastian had gone to see how his master had enjoyed the show...in which he didn't. Stepping over bodies, the survivors (except the Queen, who had retreated somewhere) walked over to Merianna.

"Hey! Where did you put everyone else?" Ciel demanded.

"Perhaps she spirited them away, Earl." Lau suggested.

She didn't answer, and only stood there with unwavering eyes.

"She's not normal." Ash commented.

"Would you like to expand on that?" Sebastian challenged.

Ash said nothing, but bent down to take Merianna's wrist. He held it up and it showed that she was holding two tarot cards. He tried to yank them from her fingers, but they held still. Not only because of her grip, but it was like they were sealed to her hand by glue.

Ash continued "Where did she get these?"

"Her mother gave them to her...or something like that."

He let go and told them that he would fetch the Queen and deal with the clean up and lookout for everyone at the party that disappeared. Seeing no other way of waking her up, Ciel had told Sebastian to carry both of them home.

* * *

When the servants awoke the following day, nothing had changed. They sat down to breakfast once they woke up from their beds and chatted. Bardroy had heard news that various people turned up all over the city, some not near home at all. They laughed at that strange news.

"I must have drunken a bit too much." Bardroy admitted. "I don't remember anything...but man does my head hurt this morning."

"I had a nightmare." Merianna said.

She prodded lightly at the bacon and bread on her plate.

"You too?" Finny asked. "I had a bad dream that this man crashed the ball last night and killed us all with his magical instrument. Is that what you saw?"

"That's weird indeed!" Meirin added. "I had the same dream! I even pinched myself awake this morning!"

Merianna poked her fingers. "Actually...It was just that my pirate ship was oerturned by a sunfish...I don't like sunfish."

They all laughed and finished their breakfast. (Sunfish **are** terrifying. This author does not like them either)

"Hurry up and finish up, guys. Young Master said he is going to visit that creepy undertaker today." Bardroy said. "We'll go see him off."

Merianna almost spat out the water she was drinking.

"I did not mean what I said before!" she cried, still not believing she survived the fancy ball.

Although Ciel assured them that the trip would be a short one, they still all assembled at the front of the steps to wave him, Sebastian and Tanaka off. Even Pluto came in his human form to lick at Sebastian's face. Merianna folded up the pearl necklace and asked Sebastian to return it to Ms. Culloch, annoyed when he made her repeat her request with a sugar-coated '_please_'. Bardroy helped Tanaka up on front of the carriage and handed him the reins.

"Merianna, what is your mother's name?" Ciel asked.

She was surprised at such a personal question (he's trying to hack her email).

"Uh...Ulchina Carolce...why?"

He didn't answer, only boarding into the carriage with the help of Sebastian. They soon left the servants in a cloud of dust and unanswered questions.

* * *

Undertaker's laughter shook the whole building and he was rolling on the floor hysterically. Passerbys hurried away from the area, certain that it was a bad omen. Ciel waited patiently for him to recover himself from his sort of 'payment'. Apparently Sebastian was quite the comedian.

"You want to look at the records...is that all?" he snickered.

"For a certain name." Ciel replied.

"That would take a long time, Young Master." Sebastian said. "Let us see the records...we'll start at 15 years ago."

Ciel nodded as Undertaker went to the back of his shop to fetch the death records. There was the crash and thunk of coffins crashing and things spilling over, but Undertaker returned with a large book covered in dust. He slammed it on the counter and the dust spread everywhere, forcing Ciel back. He opened it up to a random page and asked them the name.

"Carolce, first name Ulchina." Ciel answered.

"Ahhhh...that one in particular..." he mumbled.

The Undertaker closed the book and took it back into the back of the store. The same noises and sounds occured before he brought back a similar book. This one seemed a bit newer.

"This one was...about only ten years...ago..." He explained.

He flipped from page to page, his head lolling around the pages. It listed their names, date of birth, date of death and cause of death. He gave a creepy giggle as he turned the book around to face the Earl and his butler, pointing at one entry.

"Is this some sort of joke?!" Ciel yelled.

He giggled. "I'm not paying you, Earl, to read this..."

The entry only had the name. The other catagories were blank.

"That day, twelve rather _fat_ men came to my store telling me that a local governess had died...I went to take her measurements and the men paid me in that house's furniture and everything else..."

He continued. "By the time I brought the woman's body in to...prepare it...it disintegrated at the touch."

"Disintergrated?" Ciel repeated.

"Yes, being an honest businessman, I prepared a fake body and covered over the face...That was fine though, only two little brats were present at the funeral."

"Only two children...one of them looked like that woman, right?" Ciel asked.

"Of course, Earl. One boy and one girl... I suppose the girl must have been a relative...because her hair was the same _unusual_ colour..."

"Who was the boy?"

"I don't know, Earl. Both children looked so raggedy and plain I did not give a second thought.

"Did you find a cause of death?" Sebastian questioned.

"No...the body disintergrated before I could examine the... ehehehe... organs...But...on my first checkup, I could tell that the woman did not die of disease... or any body wounds...Very few beings would leave a corpse behind after they die... right, Mr. Butler? "

Sebastian only narrowed his eyes in response.

"But that only means these beings are so much more susceptible to things like insanity...grief...remorse..."

"What do you mean, Undertaker?" Ciel demanded.

He threw his giant sleeves up and whispered "This is just my guess...but the body looked like it died from a _quieter insanity._ The kind that finds the cracks in your mind instead of tearing it through...I suppose women are more prone to heartbreak, after all."

He recoiled and closed the record book up with a strong slam, grinning like a madman.

"Come back soon, Earl."

* * *

When Ciel was driving up to his mansion, certain that a bath was waiting for him, he saw Meirin and Finny waving and shoting from outside the carriage. Tanaka pulled the horses to a halt and Sebastian opened the door for him to step out.

"What's the matter?" He asked, trying to calm them down.

Both of them were trying to talk simultaniously, he rubbed his forehead and told them to speak more slowly.

"It's the police!" Finny cried. "They came to arrest Merianna! This strange kid...I recognize him as one the butlers at the party yesterday...he pointed at her and said she stole Lady Midford's ring!"

"And did she?" He asked, a small fury rising in his voice.

He looked down, unable to speak.

"Well, sir..." Meirin spoke up. "She _did _have it...but...she promised me she wouldn't steal from this house...We have to go to town and clear her name!"

Ciel stepped down from the carriage, with no help and stepped up the stairs.

"Bardroy has gone to town to try to settle this...Young Master? Are we going as well?"

He stopped and looked back at his servants.

"Listen here. The Phantomhive household has no place for rats. If she sets foot here again, I order you all to kill her!"

* * *

Merianna explained the situation to Bardroy as clearly as she could, even though it was hard with the knot in her throat and sobs escaping her heart. She told him that she was playing games with the butlers outside, which was where she got the ring. She didn't know it belonged to anyone. However, the boy she called Marco claimed to not recognize her at all and refused her claims. Bardroy's hot-headed threats to both the boy and the policemen did not help the situation either.

The ring was returned home. However, Merianna was not. After being handcuffed, she was thrown into the smallest cell. The only other occupant was the corpse of a drunkard long forgotten. She shrieked and backed away to the furthest corner from it, shuddering in fear. Bardroy was kicked out of the jail, but promised that the Young Master would see that she would return back to them.

The jail was made of rough stone and the only light came from a window that shone from the other side of the bars, on the right of the cells. The other cells held public nuisances deemed dangerous, accused thieves and killers and people who seemed to have lost their mind. Their feral screaming and low-sounding howling scared Merianna, as if their strange condition would rub off on her like dirt. The police searched her and she only had a thin dress on. Not even her mother's last gift could comfort her from the other side of the room.

It seemed only yesterday that she had the richest clothes on, her hair shimmering and adorned with perfumes and flowers. Her stomach was full with sweets of every flavour and food who's aroma could send people into a kind of limerance. But today she was stuffed into a cramped cell with a skeleton for a companion and in the threadbare clothes one would never wear in public. When she was done crying, she felt hungry and lost in the world.

She tried to bang the handcuffs against the jail bars, but that only turned her wrists as sore and red as her eyes. Suddenly, the doors to the front of the office opened and a red-haired man entered, taking a look at the cells in front of him. He had a youthful appearance and a naive aura around him. She backed away from the cells and to the corner to avoid being noticed by this new policeman.

He paced through the cells, some of the people come out to try to lash at him, but he stayed a fair distance away. He stopped at her cell and bent down.

"Hey, why is this young lady locked up here?" He asked.

"Heh, she's stolen a ring from the Midford house, can you believe it? And I thought the Phantomhive house was supposed to be a grand name." a voice answered.

"What's that? You come from the Phantomhive mansion?"

Merianna's ears perked up from that name, but she didn't answer the question.

"I'm a...friend...of Ciel Phantomhive. You know him, don't you?" he introduced. "I'm Fred Aberline."

The other policeman pulled his friend away from the cell. "Don't get too friendly with her. I've personally hanged some of the friends she makes. Goddamn pickpockets."

She closed her eyes and forced the memory away from her mind, only focusing on the dream she was creating. That Ciel Phantomhive would arrive on a magical boat that travels on land. Once important from Cathay that had cannons to shoot down the cold stone bricks. Bardroy and Meirin would be armed with flintlock pistols and Finny would be riding Pluto and knocking everyone out.

* * *

_Merianna found herself in a crowd of people. It seemed that everyone towered over her and were mumbling in incoherant words. She felt very small and very cramped between them. It felt like a very familiar scene, the same dusty and rotten smell rushing through her noise and she tried to squeeze out of the crowd. When she finally did, she found that she was at the front of the crowd, her head barely able to glance over the wooden platform. The policeman stood there and suddenly the crowd of people seemed transparent, unrecognizable._

_"We found the thief! We found the thief!" He announced._

_Two men were battling and roaring, held by handcuffs. Two strong men pushed them up on the platform and Merianna recognized them as her old friends. It was Spades and Shots. They seemed to be frothing at the mouth and had graying hair. It was a horrible scene as suddenly a rope with a knot appeared before them. Merianna had seen this before. She started to scramble up the platform to stop them, but she felt someone grab her waist and pull her back._

_It was Cuffs, a younger version of him, pulling her and yelling that they can't interfere. She screamed and tried to wrench away, but he held fast. None of the other people seemed to have heard her and her voice seemed to be drowned out. Spades and Shots were lead to the rope and the men gave them a shove. Their heads fell right into the loop and the platform gave way._

_Their skeletons fell to the group in a heap, no longer held up by the rope and everything else disappeared._

* * *

When Merianna awoke, she screamed when she saw the skeleton at the other end of the cell. She calmed herself upon learning that it was just a dream, but such a real one. She buried her head between her knees and had to recall it all.

Spades and Shots were the original mentors of their gang of rogues, back before there were so many additions and adults in the business. Their real names were Cayden and Alexander, but they had a love for gambling that could only be the birth for their street names. They took care of other kids and taught them the art of light fingers. Merianna was only Ghost back then, recalling how pale and light she was when she joined. Cuffs was, well, just Jake Hawkins.

It wasn't long before Step-Strings joined, followed by Piggy, Screech and Tommy-Boy. It also wasn't long before the leaders of their group was caught by the authorities. They were hung in public and their bodies were never recovered from wherever sinners went. After this, Tommy-Boy and Cuffs took over as head of the group, recruiting a must vaster army of thieves.

It wasn't the same though, without Spades and Shots. Merianna wondered if they too, had to spend nights in the same jail cell. In the darkness, the skeleton was even more scary, not because of the shape. She could not make out where the skeleton was, yet knowing that it was there, somewhere in the darkness, scared her the most.

She was sure somewhere, that the spirits of Cayden and Alexander were urging her to find a way out of the cell. She wished that her name was true and that she could've floated out through the jail like a ghost passed through the walls. She searched herself for anything that could be used as a wire.

Nothing, so she started thinking about things inside the cell. Her mind could only think about the skeleton in the corner. There was a rock nearby, but it was too small to try to break a cell bar. She suddenly turned to the faint outline of the corpse in the corner and nudged herself closer to it. Tears brimmed over her eyes and she reached for its hand. Feeling the dirty bones, she took one and snatched a finger. The threw it on the floor, disgusted with it and smashed the rock over it with both her hands. It broke open the bone and left jagged edges and bits of calcium pieces. She took the biggest piece and stepped over the carnage, to the lock of the door.


	8. Deepest Feelings

How many hours has it been that she was working at the lock? The shoved the bone into the lock and forced it around, begging to hear a clink and have the door open. By now she was covered in cold sweat and her arms were sore from the work. The bone was getting greasy in her hands and it slipped around her grasp. The more she twisted the broken bone, the less faith she had.

Less faith in her chance of getting out, less faith in the Phantomhives doing anything to help her get out.

Finally, the bone was wedged in so much that it would hardly be moved. She tried to pull it back out, but it held fast. What was worse than the bone not opening the lock was that it was _stuck_ inside the keyhole. She groaned and stepped back, grabbing her scalp in frustration. She didn't want to die here. Not alone. The worse kind of death was the lonely ones. Frustrated at everything, she imagined Sebastian's idiotic smirking face and slammed her heel on the lock. It didn't budge at all, but when she recoiled, a click was heard and the bone fell out on the other side.

Heart beating fast, she pushed the cell door a little. It moved with the tiniest screech. Her heart leapt and she turned back to the skeleton, silently giving thanks to whoever's dead body that was. She also thanked her friends that died before her, just for the reason of being grateful.

Her next task was how she was going to escape. She wasn't sure if the policemen were still on the other side. She looked into the other cells; everyone was fast asleep. She could've escaped out the window...if she were as small as a worm maybe. She had to get creative.

She opened the only door to the office a tiny bit. It was dark and there weren't any sounds. Opening it enough for her to slip through, she crouched to avoid being seen, stopping every minute to listen. There were no sounds, so she stood up. There was still no sound. She suspected every police to have left to gone home. Her handcuffs clinked against each other as she found familiar-looking objects strewn over a table.

"Oh, for the love of...!" She muttered.

Her tarot cards were ripped out from the pack, some were on the floor and some in a messy pile on the desk. The green pouch was not a pouch anymore, just a ragtag piece of fabric. She gathered them up gently and cradled them in her arm, as if they were her baby. She looked around for something to hold them and grabbed a beret from the desk nearby. She counted the amount of cards she had, as she could not identify them in detail. There were 21 cards. Sighing a breath of relief, she put the beret on, squashing the cards safely on her head.

Of course, the front door was locked.

She was already frustrated and eager to get out. In a sense of 'you only live once', she grabbed the nearest chair and threw it at the window as hard as she could. It shattered easily, although the hole in the glass was quite small. She used a metal book holder to chip away the bottom of the hole to make it bigger and side-stepped out.

"I can't believe I just did that!" she muttered to herself, not sure if that was worth congratulations or not.

* * *

Hardly any of the servants could eat. The act of cooking breakfast seemed trivial now. Although they hinted many times that they should rescue Merianna, Ciel replied that he was not going to and ended the conversation. It had been a week since her initial arrest, and they heard no more from her. Their hearts leapt when they found that the police station had been broken into, but nothing else was stated except that security was very lax at stations now.

Life continued on for Ciel Phantomhive. He carried whatever orders the Queen had or dealt with other clients. He made sure that the Midford family was alright after the crash at the debutante ball (terrible earthquake indeed, they said) and that the ring was returned to its rightful owner. Although Lady and Lord Midford berated the servant that he had with him (no offence to you of course, Earl, they said), Elizabeth seemed to have forgiven Ciel with all her heart.

Sebastian knocked on his door and informed him that Officer Aberline was at the door. Ciel replied to send him to the parlour and to wait for him there.

When Ciel entered, Fred Aberline was already seated, and was in conversation with Meirin. His entrance interrupted them and Meirin stood up, excusing herself from the cold gaze he gave her. She closed the doors after her and left them. Aberline greeted Ciel with a handshake and let him sit down opposite to him.

"Ciel, when I was patrolling the jail cells a few days ago I...well...stumbled onto someone you might know..." He started.

"No one." He answered flatly.

"Well, Ciel. It's just that...she was..."

"This conversation is over, Officer Aberline."

Ciel Phantomhive stood up to leave.

"The next day, she wasn't there anymore."

He stopped.

"...That has nothing to do with me. If you're here to accuse me, I assure you that I was not in town those last few days and have various alibis to prove it."

Aberline stood up. "No, Ciel. It's not like that. I want to know who she is."

"There's nothing to know, Mr. Aberline. She lived as a street-rat and will _die_ as a street-rat."

* * *

Everything seemed to have returned to normal, even on the streets. The thieves were prospering, more food was being served to them by the adults and no one seemed to even recognize the name of the once-girl of the group. The adults were urging the children to plan more elaborate attacks, perhaps even breaking into a jeweller's store or a blacksmith's.

Today, Oliva led his group of peers through the streets, along with Cuffs. It was the same routine as always. The smaller kids would badger a couple for some money, sometimes receiving some. Cuffs, as the young gentleman, would shoo them away from the couple, blabbering about society's morals and dusting them off. They would all run away before they noticed that Cuffs had nicked whatever he could get his hands on.

On their break, they would return to their hideout and drop off whatever spoils they had and grab a bit of bread and head out again. The kids bugged Cuffs for more food, knowing that one slice of bread couldn't possibly last them more than five seconds. He squatted down and pointed at the newspaper boy across the busy street. The giggled excitedly and he told them to stay put.

He stuffed his bread into his pocket and strode across the street. He asked the boy a bit smaller than him his name and what the world was up to today.

"Well, sir. If you wanna buy a copy of this newspaper-"

"Ah, newspaper." Cuffs started, grabbing a copy and opening it up. "What toils does the world bring us today?"

He circled around him, locating the boy's pockets.

"Yeh! Have you heard of the earthquake? It shook up this poor lady's ball yesterday and she was having a fit because of it! Just fifty pence for the whole story!"

"You know whut, little lad? I ain't sure it's so good to be makings stories about the hardships of people. Maybe we ain't helping 'em any by making a big story out of it." He continued.

Thinking that he was going to make a great sale, the newspaper boy continued, not even noticing that half of his money was gone now.

"Oh, I agree, sir! But you know, I gotta make some money somehow." He mused. "So how about it? Just fifty pence and I'll go home a rich boy!"

Cuffs ruffled the boy's head, also taking the small handkerchief from his front pocket with the other hand. He replaced the newspaper and continued down the road, suddenly making a break across the road and back to where he let the boys.

"Hey, let's get usselves some apples today, fellas!" He yelled.

But there were no response. In fact, the boys weren't even there. His eyes darted around, trying to locate a herd of young rowdy boys. The adults would kill him if he lost them to police or if they got lost and trodden on by horses on the road. He called out some of their names while running along the roads, causing attention to be drawn towards him.

"Hey! Croc-Ees! Trip-Links! Oliva?"

They were glancing at a bunch of crates in the familiar alleyway, and a familiar person sat there, quietly chewing on an apple.

"Blood-Eyes, Blood-Eyes, cries so much her eyes turn red!" Trip-Links began.

They other cheered on, and the ones that didn't know the chant, began to learn it. Cuffs stood still, hoping that she didn't see him at the end of the alley. He couldn't leave the boys, but he didn't want to have to talk to her either. He was surprised that she didn't react at all to the cruel rhyme and she sat there, eating away at the apple. She was not in the same clothes as last time either, being dressed in what looked like a ripped nightgown that sat just over her knees. (No, he's not a pervert)

"Hey, you got any money, Blood-Eyes?" Oliva poked.

She didn't reply.

"Hey, boys. Let's go. I gots the money already." Cuffs yelled.

"Yeah, yeah." Oliva replied. "But what if she's got more?"

Although she was almost twice his size, he held a hand to her shoulder and pushed her off the crate. She moved, but didn't fall over. She merely moved aside, but dropped her apple on the ground.

"Besides," he snickered. "It's always easier to steal from a gir-"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Merianna didn't react either, but had her head limp and was slowly reaching to the apple on the ground. The group of boys suddenly started backing away.

"What's wrong?" Cuffs asked, still staying his distance away.

They started screaming and running to Cuffs. They grabbed his long coat and hid behind it, yelling and pointing at Merianna. Or rather, the crate she was sitting on. Now that there was no weight on it, a bit of it was uncovered to show what looked like mushy flesh and an eyeball peering out. There was definitely a corpse packing in there.

"C'mon, Cuffs, let's run! She's gone lunatic!" they wailed, tugging at his coat.

He turned back to Ghost-Walker. The first thing he noticed was the shiny metal clasped around her wrists. The second was that she still stood there, unmoving. It was like she did not even notice them as she took a bite out of the apple in her hand. He turned away and led the boys out of the alleyway.

* * *

"So what did the Officer say?" Finnian whispered.

The three of them met in the gardens, discussing Meirin's conversation with Fred Aberline. She was told that Merianna was put into the jail cell, but at night she must have broken out. The police never check on the prisoners held there, except for Officer Aberline. He had wanted to ask the white-haired girl about the Phantomhive house the next day, but she was no longer there. The other police though someone had broken _into_ the station and monopolized everything on their desks. The money was missing, so were the other prisoners.

Officer Aberline deduced that she broke out somehow and threw the chair at the window to climb out. Thieves must have seen the open window and went for everything they could. Right as Meirin was about to ask Mr. Aberline to find her, the Young Master entered and she had to leave.

Bardroy lit up a cigarette, begging Meirin and Finny not to tell on him.

"What's the use?" Finny cried. "It's not like she's ever coming back!"

"There's only one thing we can do then, if she can't come back..." Bardroy concluded. "We'll just have to find her in the town then, on our own!"

"What are you guys doing?"

They were surprised to see Ciel and Sebastian behind them.

"N-N-Nothing at all, Young Master!" Meirin shrieked.

The group split. Ciel looked each one of them in the eye.

"Why did you tie ribbons on the Juliette roses, Finny?" He asked.

He stepped back. "Young Master, I haven't touched them at all, except for watering them. I thought it was you that did that." He admitted.

"If I recall correctly," Sebastian added. "Juliette roses will only bloom a certain amount of flowers by this time. The ones that Merianna cut off would not have regrown."

Ciel held a hand to his chin.

"Young Master..." Finny mumbled. "It is possible...that it was her..."

"What?" He said sharply.

"I...Uh...I know...Maybe she cut the stems off the ones she took...she maybe...tied it back onto the plant...that way they regrew back..."

He looked at him and made his way towards it, the servants following hurriedly.

"Sebastian...untie it..."

He obeyed and undid the ribbon. Although there was a light-coloured scar where the rose stem was cut, it held together now, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

"That idiot...if she fixed it as easily like this, she didn't have to take up work here!" He grunted.

Meirin held a hand up to her mouth and the other scrunched up against her chest, moved to tears.

"That means she really just wanted to stay with us..."

* * *

Step-Strings had invited Cuffs up to the roof of the abandoned butcher shop for a chat, their usual hang-out spot. The rust-haired boy offered a cigarette to his elder friend, but he refused. They sat at the edge of the building, their legs swinging over the edge as they looked down. From below, it might have just looked like two shadows sitting still on the rooftop of a butcher shop.

"So didya hear about that there whole bussing-ness them adults an' little toddlers were talkin' 'bout? Step-Strings asked, blowing a stream of smoke.

Cuffs shook his head. Even the phrase sounded wrong. Children didn't do business. Adults and adults did business. Business was for those who had money to spend and people to trust. They weren't anything like that.

"If ya ask meh, I say it's 'cuz of those _adults_ bargin' into our world. Ever since they joined in on our world...Shure the food's been better, we got some 'un to take care of the littles 'uns."

He scrunched a fist up. "But we've been losin' the money we earned. Two gold'n watches brought back an' they says we still ain't got enough fer any pork meat this week. It ain't s'posed to be like this. Them and their goddamn bussing-ness talk."

"Cut to the short-talk already, Steps." Cuffs grumbled.

He'd been in a bad mood all day. The least he wanted right now was to listen to someone else blowing off their anger at him.

"They've been talkin' to some peoples. I 'unno what sorts, but I knows it ain't the type we usually be messin' with. They call themselves the 'greatest thieves of all time with the greatest purpose' 'nd they proposed to us to form an...an alliance...of sorts."

"An alliance?" He repeated.

"Seems like they could use sum kids for a special errand. They wanted to take us in, in return we help them with their jobs an' what not. We gets free boardin' and food, but wes gonn' have to move, he says."

"Yeah?" asked Cuffs. "And what's their names?"

"Some...Ruje Gorge or somethin'. Somethin' frenchy-sounding."

"_Rouge-Gorge_? That's French for um...a robin..."

"Yeah, I s'pose so..." Step-Strings continued. "They says they wanna gives the poor the greatest. Takes from the rich 'nd gives to the poor."

"That...sounds nice...I see why them adults are considerings it."

"No, Cuffs, No!" Step-Strings yelled, throwing the cigarette down on the roof.

He jumped up so suddenly that Cuffs thought he was going to fall over.

"It ain't s'posed to be like this. We're thieves, Cuffs_._** Thieves!**We ain't s'pose to be havin' a good heart, we ain't s'pose to be doin' bussing-ness deals, we ain't s'pose to do **any of this shit!**"

He coughed heavily and sat back down, hands clasped on his lap.

"An' that's why I'm leavin' the group. It ain't the same a 'sit used to be."

Cuffs took a wide look at him.

"What?!" he uttered. "Shit, Steps, you ain't even older than me and your trying to best me in being all manly and noble. You ain't serious 'bout this, are you?"

"You know how Blood-Eyes left, don't ya? Got tired of all _our_ shit that she just left and didn't say no word to any 'un. Maybe she did the smart thing. Maybe girls can just _sense_ when things ain't gonn' do well. That wemen intuitin' or somethin'."

"No, Steps! This ain't right!" Cuffs screamed. "We gotta stick together right? You can't leave when the going getting good, not now!"

"Listen 'here, Hawkins! Shut yer god damn trap for a second an' just _listen_ to me. Listen to yourself speakin' and for god's sake... Listen to yer own heart!" He hissed. "I don'ts have a good feelin' 'bout the deal. Somethin' shady 'bout it. Who needs a whole ragtag group 'a boys for just **one **errand, hmm? I knows we gotta stick together...I'm just thinkin'...I dunno...maybe Meria'd get us a job at that fancy mansion she'd been gettin' a job at?"

"No! Shut up! We ain't gonna be anything like Merianna!"

Things went serious when they used real names. Jake Hawkins, Merianna Carolce, Arthur Neilston, the only members left from the original team. They all remembered Spades and Shots and they were all there when they were hanged at the gallows.

"Suit yerselfs..." Step-Strings replied. "You make it seem like she's a horrible monster now, Hawkins. It ain't nice to treat the ladies like that."

He punched him lightly in the shoulders, but Cuffs stayed with his knees in his arms, apparently pouting.

"You cans senses it raight? The tension in the group. Oliva's been talkin' 'bout takin' over as head of the group...an' we're splittin'. Every 'un of us is gonn' have to choose a side soon. I'm just creatin' mah own." He said calmly. "I know your type, Cuffs. You always gonn' do what the majority do. In it fer the winnin' team. Just know that this once, if you **do that this time**, you ain't ever gonn' back out."

Step-Strings immediately took out another cigarette, unfortunately heavily addicted. He pointed at the full moon, always a symbol of a family that stuck together. That even if the moon was never full on any other day, it was today. Everyone knew that. The only thing as white as the moon was the man walking towards them.

Cuffs jumped to his feet. "Who's that!?"

The man had white hair and strode gallantly towards the butcher shop, a thin smile on his lips. He was dressed in an all-white suit, not flecked at all with any dirt despite walking in the dirtiest parts of the district. His dark-coloured eyes caught theirs.

"Hello, gentlemen. May I ask if the ringleaders of this troupe are nearby?"

"State yer mission, sir. Whaddya want?" Step-Strings snapped, not noticing the indirect insult.

"I come on behalf of the _Rouge-Gorges_ to discuss the job we need. We will also show you the beds reserved for each and every one of those willing to join our cause."

Step-Strings took a drag on the cigarette. He could send him away right now and never have to deal with the business, never have to run away from the group, if he made this man go away. But no, the stone had been rolling long before the opportunity for mutiny had risen. Perhaps it was fate's decision set in stone.

"...I'll fetch 'em for ya, sir. Just wait there. Cuffs, keep yer eyes on 'im."

* * *

Merianna brought the cards from under her hat and squatted near the lamp post. All day she had been sleeping, but she still felt tired. It wasn't hunger or thirst anymore, just an exhaustion that seemed to have taken her. She hugged them tightly, remembering her mother's teaching to smile, even when things went wrong. She set up a tarot reading, knowing that they never worked anyways. If the cards spoke to her and every person she read for, they would be the same the second, third and fourth time she did them. She flipped over the card for her past.

The Sun.

She smirked, knowing that it bore the hard truth that life was better before, at the Phantomhive estate. She flipped the card for her present.

The Hermit.

It wasn't her own choice to be alone. She puffed her cheek in annoyance. There was one last card, dictating her future.

The Hierophant.

Sighing, she gathered the cards up. Setting up another reading. When her mother read for her, they always were the same cards for the same person the second, third and fourth time. Merianna flipped over all three, discouraged to find The Tower, The Empress and The Devil open to her. She rubbed her eyes, not being able to read them as her mother did.

She retreated away from the light and back to the shelter she made from a flattened box on the cold floor and a piece of stray plywood leaning against the wall. It was difficult placing it there with her handicap. She had tried to break the metal links apart with sticks, stones and her teeth. She even tried to slip out of the loops by wetting her hands and wrists, but it held fast.

There was only one person she knew that ever found a way to pick open handcuffs, who kept them as a memento, weapon and name.

* * *

The three servants told Ciel they had gone shopping for groceries. Indirectly, of course. By the time that Tanaka had made his way from the servants' quarters to Ciel's bedroom on the top floor, their carriage would be on the way already, not that Finny was that skilled a driver.

The Young Master said _if _she set foot _here_, meaning if she was in the estate, they had to kill her. But he didn't say anything about meeting _here_ in town, they reasoned.

They circled the streets, calling her name. None of the shopkeepers recognized her, not even the newspaper seller who looked suspiciously at them and then proceeded to check his pockets. In fact, the city was more hushed now. Suspicious stares were being thrown at them just for passing by and the group felt very insecure.

Suddenly, Finny suddenly grabbed Bard's and Meirin's wrists and dragged them past the crowd, over the bridge and where the place started to smell mouldy and stank of rotten meat. There was a poorly-dressed girl with tangled white hair that was left flowing out. When she sneezed, they instantly recognized her. (Always at the right times)

"I thought I saw you!" He cried, running over and grabbing her in a massive bear-hug.

She yelped and swung her arms and legs around until he let her go. She jumped away and almost delivered a kick to Finny before she realized who it was. Apologizing furiously, she returned the hug this time. Meirin and Bardroy joined in, despite how dirty she became.

She cried and didn't want to let go, until they pulled away. Bardroy suddenly grabbed her shoulders and met his eyes with hers. She saw a mixture of fear, seriousness and worry in them.

"Merianna, what ever you do…whatever happens…_**don't go back to the Phamtomhive estate**_." He warned.

Her eyes widened. Was there something wrong there? A danger? It couldn't be Sebastian, could it…? She looked at them for an answer, although no words escaped her open mouth.

"Merianna…it's just that…" Finny began. "Young Master…ordered us to kill you…"

"He's furious…he thinks…! He believes you stole the ring!" Meirin explained. "B-But we believe that you didn't! So please Merianna, _please_…don't come back…as much as we love you and want you back…we can't…we can't"

Merianna's hands tightened on her dress and she bent her head down to try to stifle the tears. They all looked like they wanted to do the same as well. She couldn't help but grab at Bardroy's clothes, burying her face into her friend. Their eyes were lit with surprise when the handcuffs tinkled and clanked together.

"No! Please don't leave me! Please don't leave me!" she wailed, voice cracking with desperation. "I-I-I finally found…found everything I wanted…I don't want you to leave…! Don't abandon me, please!"

Finny was the next to burst into tears, twisting her away from Bardroy and hugging her closely. Meirin took off her glasses to wipe at her tears, holding her hands tightly until they turned white.

"We're…sorry, Merianna…we need to get back now…" Meirin whimpered. "Here's some money…buy yourself some food…and Mr. Landers has talked to us…he told us that he could take you in and hide you from Young Master…he'll give you a job under the Queen and then…and then he…only then would he not be able to harm you."

She took Merianna's hands and pressed a couple of coins in them as well as a small piece of paper, before they turned to leave. Merianna wanted to stop them, to grab onto their clothes and never let go, but holding onto people never meant they would stay. Instead, she could only cling to herself, the only thing that stayed forever. She wanted to fade away then, like a ghost, and only have to linger in people's memories.

* * *

Merianna stayed curled up in a ball all day, hidden under her safe place of a shelter. She cried as much as her heart could squeeze out. Under the plywood, no one would make fun of her crimson-red face and leave her alone. She knew she was hungry, and the hunger wore away at her energy, but she did not want to eat. Finally, when she was done, she miserably climbed out of her shelter.

A black cat sat there, an apple at its paws. It meowed at her in a dark voice. She bent down to the cat's level. Was it a stray too? She reached for it slowly and the cat came under her hand. Although it didn't purr, it rubbed itself affectionately against her palm. The softness of the creature put a small smile on her face. What was there that a companion couldn't fix?

Suddenly, a foot came and fiercely kicked the cat away. It howled as it crashed to the pavement, lying on its side. Merianna gave a cry and turned towards the band of little thieves, back to torture her some more. Without thinking, she stood up and cracked her hand against the first face she could. Trip-Links'.

"Why would you do such a thing?!" She screamed at him.

It was the first time she had ever slapped someone, and the rest of the group knew that as well. She ran towards the cat, picking it up and tried cradling it in her arms as she cried for its pain. She carried him the best she could with handcuffed wrists. The cat's eyes ere open and blinking, but it stayed on its side, somewhat limp in her hands.

"Y-Y-You just…you just slapped me!" He cried.

"I-If you c-c-come near me again…I'll do it…I'll do it again!" she threatened, half-heartedly.

"Just give us your money, and we'd be off!" Oliva reasoned. "Or we'll get Cuffs to come n' teach you a lesson! In fact, I think he's arriving _any second_!"

Another boy added "Yeah! We aren't scared of you anymore! What you did before was just a trick! Bet you it wasn't even a real body! Yeah, you ain't gonna trick us another time!"

She could hear the over-confidence in his voice, and anger slowly welling up inside her. She wasn't sure what body they were referring to, or this 'last time', but concluded that they must have come up with another story. _Kids, bah_. Still, she knew that she could never bear any hatred against them. She always forgave. Always. It was simply a rule she knew, followed and was taught by her mother.

"_Always feel pity for these humans…They do not understand…They are incapable of…"_

Sure enough, he came. The boys reported to him and pointed excitedly at her, claiming that she had money and that he would be a hero if he did. He took the time to listen to each of their ramblings, staring at the girl crying over a cat that wasn't even dead. He looked around the alley, and then back to his cousins.

"Give us the money!" the little urchins yelled.

One of them turned to Merianna's little shelter, knocking down the plywood and then proceeded to urinate it. Some of the others joined in too. While they finished, Merianna still did not move, contemplating either to throw away her mother's teaching and to get her revenge or simply walking away.

Merianna placed the cat on the ground and dug her hands into the small pocket on the side of her dress. She turned to face the thieves and threw the money at them.

"Take it! Take it, you dis_gusting_ littl' half-wits! Because if it ain't me who'z gonna take pity on you pou-ur excuzes, no 'ne else'll **ever ever**want to take yous in, gives youz a warrm meal and **never ever **have your back when eet counts! Za best_ vous_ _serez dans la future sont les moutons à l'autel ! Je t'emmerde ! Va vous brûlez en enfer_!"

She hardly recognized herself changing from polite English to street slang to French in one whole string of sentences. They looked at her as she stopped and gasped for breath, her face not only red from crying but heating from anger and fury as well. A few of them grumbled, picking up the coins and stepping out of the alleyway. When most of them had left, she dropped to her knees, holding her wrists to her face and sobbed pitifully.

She didn't like yelling at people, being angry and being hostile. It was better to have been known as a quiet, but accepting person than one to lash out at others. Perhaps that was what became of the children on the streets.

"J-Just…Give me your fuckin' cuffs."

She looked up and saw Cuffs still waiting there, throwing and catching the apple in one hand, glaring dangerously at her.

"_Casse-toi_!" she snapped.

Of course he knew what the meant. He took hold of the length of chain and pulled the forward, producing a bit of looped wire. He put his knee on the chain to stop her from yanking it back and pinned it to the stone ground. As a result, she fell face forward onto his chest. If she wanted to, she could have whipped her head and delivered some blows…minute on the danger level though.

"Keep still! If yous want, I could'a just knock yous out cold and just claim 'em then! Then for god sake's I'd be sparing myself the wonders of your Frenchy swears! Just 'cause them others don't understand your Frenchy don't mean I never heard how much you were cussin' like fire. You want the goddam' things off or what?!"

He bonked the back of her head with a punch to show how serious he was, shaping the loop to be able to fit into the lock of the handcuffs.

"Fak….you!" she snarled, although her threat was muffled by the heavy, oversized coat he wore.

She'd forgotten how much about language he had learned from her.

Merianna heard him spit on the handcuffs, something she found very revolting, as he inserted the wire in. He was twisting it very hard that she thought he meant to rip the handcuffs off for his personal collection…throwing out her dismembered hands afterwards. She stayed in that awkward position, muffling various curses and as many swear words as she learned until her anger and sadness faded away.

"Hey! Cuffs! Whaddya doing back there?!" a small yell called.

"N-Nothing!" He replied back. "Just takin' something extra!"

He proceeded to take Merianna's hands, holding them tightly and looked her in the eyes with the same threat he made earlier. _Don't try anything_, his eyes whispered. He brought them up and slammed them onto the stone ground. She screamed in pain when the metal clashed against her wrists. He shushed her and tried again, this time she bit her lips to silence herself.

After a couple hits, they sprang open like magic and Merianna jerked her hands back, never wanting to be trapped in them ever again. Cuffs snatched the handcuffs away and snapped the wire back from inside the keyhole. When Merianna turned back to check on the cat, it was gone without a trace.

Oliva came around the corner, demanding an explanation from Cuffs. Even though he was much more elder and superior, Cuffs stuttered on his words.

"I-I-I just…!" He reasoned, showing off the new weapons he had.

"You idiot! Why'd you hav'ta help her?" He screamed, stamping his foot on the ground.

He retorted angrily "Fuck off, 'Liva. I'm not helping her, you idiot! I just wanna take what I wants!"

Merianna watched as he took up the apple from the cat that he promised her in return for the handcuffs. He threw it on the ground where it split into pieces and stomped his shoe hard onto them, rendering everything a pile of inedible slush. She held her hand to her mouth, clamping down the words of thanks she was about to give to him, as well as anymore insults that she had not already used. She only let one thing drop out.

"You're a horrible person, Jake…I…I hate you!"


	9. Causes To Cry

When Merianna awoke on the cold stone floor of the alleyway, the first thing she did was reach over and under her head for the beret containing her cards. She had used them as a pillow to rest her head on after giving up on her shelter. It stank of urine, and the area only reminded her of the painful memories of yesterday. She rubbed her swollen red wrists, grimacing at how much it had chaffed her skin. She was very hungry now, perhaps she should have kept the money instead of hastily letting her anger blind her judgement.

It was early morning, although Merianna wasn't sure if the sun was out or not. A heavy mist blanketed the town and the only things she could see were outlines of buildings and the light from the street lamps. How would she be able to eat today? There were several options: stealing, begging, persuasive skills, threatening or somehow finding money. She didn't see any of those as possible venues to obtain food.

She sighed and remembered the advice Meirin had given her, digging the paper out. It held a location inscribed in ink, it was an old church that had beautiful stained glass windows. Merianna had once thought that building was where rainbows were created and butterflies grew in. Only now it was abandoned after a scandal of heresy and was only visited by little children on dares.

The building was always stern, high and mighty, much like the stuffy nobility Merianna had met. She supposed there was no other choice.

* * *

Cuffs picked up the few belongings of Stikes the bulldog. In the rush to pick up all thei belongings to move to the new boarding house, everyone had forgotten about their cutest member. The hideout was now deserted; even the table was chopped up and moved as firewood. Only a young man and a nosy little dog stood in the emptiness, recollecting all the memories one last time. Cuffs had picked up various leather-wrapped knuckle bones and plopped them into the cushioned wicker basket. He shooed the dog to the entrance way and had to push the dog upwards and out before tossing the basket up as well..

He looked around the hideout, in case he missed anything that might turn out to be useful later…like kitchen knives or perhaps rope! There was a secret entrance to the abandoned butcher shop, as the hideout was built right underneath the storage and led to butchering room and the front, although it was boarded up. There were some stone steps that led to a loose floorboard, and he lifted them up before hoisting his body up to the storage.

Seeing nothing interesting in the storage, he opened the door leading to the butchering room. Cuffs remembered the custom of initiation they once had, where aspiring thieves would spend a night in the butcher room while the others played tricks and scared them. The meat had all rotten away, but the hooks were still dangling from the ceiling, rusted and caked in blood long gone rotten.

There was something there, two hooks holding it up, although it seemed like they were about to rip it in two. Cuffs swore when he recognized the shape of a torso with nothing below the knees, the hooks digging into what were the handless arms of the body. A groaned escaped the body, and Cuffs stepped forward.

"Who…What the hell…" he muttered.

"Cuffs…git…here…" a familiar voice groaned.

He turned to face the body hung on two meat hooks as Step-Strings looked to him past his rust-coloured hair. From afar, Cuffs had mistaken his hair for blood, but now he could see that there was no blood on him whatsoever, not even where the meat hooks pierced him. Cuffs had to keep himself from vomiting, clenching his stomach with a tightened grasp.

"What happened here, Step-Strings?" Cuffs asked, "Who did this to you?!"

Step-Strings was conscious, staring down at his friend, but he looked tired, worn. Only his head was able to move at all, and it did very slowly. Cuffs reached up to try to take hold of the metal hook.

"**Don't**!" He barked. "Leave them! They ain't…normal…whatever the man did…"

He coughed, grimacing when his lungs collapsed.

"I tried…to talk to the man in the white suit…he dids this t'me…" He continued. "Listen closely, Cuffs, I ain't gonn' repeat twice 'nd I'm…I'm countin' on ya…"

Cuffs straightened up, attentive to anything he could do for his dying friend.

"They're mad, Cuffs! Straight-up murderers! They're gonn'…They're gonn' take all 'em to that church…y'know whut fer? _Sacrifice_." He hissed.

"S-Sacrifice? Sacrifice for what?!" Cuffs demanded. "This man…in the white suit…"

"I 'unno fer sure…I heards they were gonn' revive an angel…fuckin' lost it, man. The look in 'is eyes when he says that…You gotta go stop 'em, Cuffs. It's upta you."

He said this with a calmness that seemed to make the whole room grow still. He dropped his head, unable to meet eyes with Cuffs as he told him his will.

"The little 'uns, probably don't got a clue what's gonn' happen to 'em. They wants the lives of 100 souls…I heard they're desperate enuff to even talk 'bout lyuring Merian's over to the place…crazy bastards…they probably already gots the majority chained in a dunge-eon under that place…"

"You're crazy, Steps! I can't just barge in'ere and demand thems to let them go!" Cuffs retorted.

Step-Strings wheezed painfully. "I heard…them…ahhh…Phantomhives…"

He gasped for air, causing Cuffs to step back in alarm.

"H-Hold on there, I'll get yous off!"

"Git going'! I ain't gonn' fuckin' make it….Go!" He roared. "He says the only thin' interferin' were 'em Phantomhive house…I don't know whuts goin' on…but maybe you can…that house…I know Chippers brought Stikes over there…for whatever errands he had been runnin'…"

"What about yous? You're _dying_!" Cuffs shot.

"_I already know that_! And I _know _that there ain't nothin' that can save me now. Look at how much I ain't bleedin', inhumane magicks…I ain't even gots any of my legs let 'nd look at my arms, fer god sake's, Cuffs, git a move on!"

Although he didn't want to admit it, the metal hooks embedded into Step-String's triceps and poked out the other side, and Cuffs wasn't sure how he would go about rescuing him, or if there was even a way to put him out of his misery.

Step-Strings coughed heavily, and his breath was getting shallower and sweat dropped from his face. Seeing Cuffs again and passing on the information had given his heart a jump start back into life, but his body couldn't handle it anymore. He looked down on his friend, into his panicking eyes.

Perhaps courage was infectious, because Cuffs breathed hot air into his hands, said good-bye to Step-Strings and went back out to the hideout, calling for Stikes.

* * *

"Hiya~ Sebastian!" Grell greeting, dropping in and attempting to grab him in a hug.

After Sebastian let go of the death drip he had on the red-clad shinigami, he watched as he drew out a basket of red apples from behind a bust in the library room.

"Yaa~ When you asked me for a Hesperi apple, I was worried you were going to kill some human with that, but since you liked them so much..." He gushed, offering the basket like a kohai trying to get their senpai to notice them.

"Your offer is kind, but I cannot do anymore with those poisonous apples...one failed attempt would not work twice."

Suddenly, he turned his head to the left, as if he heard something.

"Perhaps another time, a stranger has arrived."

Grell Sutcliff followed him, using a shinigami spell to set fire to the accursed apples before any innocent human ingested them and died, making more work for him.

Ciel Phantomhive was reading a letter sent from Lady Midford claiming that she had created a new fashion trend, as many others were not wearing ruby-studded rings, although she had broken hers in a fit and it shattered upon hitting the concrete floor. The letter once again thanked him for his attendance to Elizabeth's ball and for his support for their daughter. Ciel was about to put the letter away in his filing cabinet when he heard a thump at the windowed door. Something must have hit it.

He grumbled and opened the window, expecting to see an unconscious bird lying at the threshold. Instead, there was a ruffled black-haired boy in a large brown coat that was too big on him. On the balcony above Ciel, Bardroy, Meirin, Finnian and Tanaka had rushed out to listen to this stranger. Bardroy stroked his chin in thought, as if he had seen this man before.

Ciel looked this stranger up and down; not daring to let him enter with his shoddy appearance. The boy stood higher than him, looking down curiously.

"Ehm...is the Phantomhives at home?" He asked.

"You're speaking to the Earl of Phantomhive." Ciel said. "State your name and business."

The young man hid his hands back into the sleeves of the coat, moved them to the pockets, and back inside the sleeves. He was obviously skeptical about Ciel, mostly because of his young face.

"I needs your help." He said.

"Hey! You're the little brat who tried to kill Snowy before!" Bardroy suddenly yelled from above.

Tanaka and Meirin found themselves clinging onto the chef and trying to calm him to prevent him from jumping off the balcony and hurting himself, as well as the boy.

"I didns't try to kill 'her!" He snapped back. "What's a brute like you doing in a place like this anyways? Burning up all the meals, ay?"

"Why you litt-!"

Ciel was losing interest and started to close the door on him. It was stopped when the boy held the door open.

"W-Wait! Y-You gotta stop the sacrifice! They're gonna kill all me friends at the church!" Cuffs cried. "They says only the Phantomhives'd have a way!"

"And why should I care if your friends live or die? I have no part in this." Ciel cruelly replied. "If you're trying to beg me more some money, I will alert the authorities of you...Jake Hawkins."

He looked up to the balcony above. "And you all get back to work!"

Sebastian had arrived at the windowed door, next to his master. Grell took the other side, pushing to see the commotion. The boy bristled, tightening his fists and clenching his teeth. He suddenly shot his arms out and grabbed Ciel by the collar. Although he didn't lift him off the ground, he pulled his face close.

"Listen here, you little piece of sh-"

Before he could continue his threat, a strong hit knocked his stomach and chest and threw him crashing into the wall inside the house. His head was slammed there and when he opened his dizzying eyes, the black clad butler stood defensively in front of the Earl of Phantomhive. His things clattered on the floor in front of him, but he was too disoriented to reach for them.

"What's this?" the butler asked, picking up one of his belongings.

It was a silvery white, oval-shaped container, a band of pearl-like decorations on the side and a purple bow on the lid. The butler turned it over, but the lid did not fall. Cuffs slowly got to his feet, grabbing the two metal handcuffs and wearing them over his fists.

"Dons't you touch that!" He roared.

He suddenly felt dizzy, dropping to his knees again. He must have underestimated how hard he was hit. He repeated his warning, a bit with a more weakened voice. The butler frowned and tried to pry the lid off, but it held still. The red-clad man behind him jumped up against the butler's back.

"That thing's alive, Sebastian. You wouldn't be able to open it unless you had a death scythe!" He explained.

"Both of you, stop playing around." The noble commanded.

"Please…" Cuffs voice croaked. "You has to save me friends…maybes you dons't understand 'cuz you never had a family like that…even Merianna…they'll all die if you dons't do anythin…"

"What's that?" the Earl asked. "Merianna is in this?"

The boy stepped closer, pushing aside the butler and the man with crimson long hair.

"Why would I care if she lived or died? She _stole_ from one of my closest associates…and if I ever see her again, I'll kill her without fail." He hissed in a low voice.

"What if I told yous that it wasn't her that stole it?" He bartered.

"Speak." He demanded.

He took out a golden band with red stones around it.

"This is the real thing." He huffed. "I slipped it off the lady's hand when I shook hands with her…delivering what flowers she ordered for the party."

The black butler suddenly snatched the ring, analysing it in detail.

"We dropped fake rings around…with fool's gold and painted minerals in 'em…That's where everyone elses got theirs, thinking it was a littl' treasure hunt organized by the house."

"Young Master, this is the real ring." The butler said. "What will we do now?"

By now Cuffs had gotten to his feet, winded, but still standing. He panted heavily and watched the Earl of Phantomhive contemplate the situation. The crimson haired man was squirming to see the white chest, which he seized from the butler. He suddenly had a strange tool in his hands. It looked like a flattened fan with teeth around it.

"Give that back." Cuffs growled. "GIVE IT BACK!"

While the young man and Grell were having a comedic brawl in a dust of cloud and various fists and legs, Ciel took the ring from Sebastian, examining it as well.

"Well?" Sebastian asked in a whisper.

"We go." He replied confidently. "Grell!"

Suddenly, a large crash was heard outside. In the heat of the moment, Cuffs pried the chest away from Grell, holding it close. Bardroy, Finnian and Meirin were toppled over each other, fallen over the balcony. They were all groaning in pain and confusion, and Ciel ignored that. They would live.

"And you, Mr. Hawkins," He addressed. "Your friends will be saved. But you will be arrested for theft from aristocracy once I return. If you so much as move 50 centimetres away from one of the servants supervising you or try anything suspicious, I won't hesitate to giving you an _early _execution. Have I made myself clear?"

It was like listening to a much more mature Step-Strings, except this time the boy was snobby and bossy. In a cold sweat, he asked him a question.

"And what if you dons't save them? All you've gots is that butler and that…freak going with yous. Shouldn't I come along too?"

"I assure you that one Phantomhive servant will be enough to stop this…genocide…" Sebastian assured. "It's only a church after all."

"Meirin, Bard, Finny, make sure you keep an eye on this man."

"And I am one _hell _of a butler."

* * *

Cuffs kept quiet while he waited in the library. The three other servants were sitting on their chairs, watching him with suspicious eyes. They hadn't even introduced themselves and were in a glaring contest with him. A smaller, but older man came along with a tray of tea and a plate of cookies, setting it on the table next to Cuffs. Cuffs pointed to himself, a silent answer if they were for him. The old man nodded and left the room with a small laugh.

Cuffs had been starving for a while, and he stuffed the cookies into his mouth without looking too guilty. The three servants stared at him judgementally.

"This was Merianna's favourite room, you know." The gardener said.

Of course he would bring that up; they were clearly suspicious of him because they worked with Merianna. They were obviously trying to bring her up for conversation.

"Y-Yeah?" Cuffs replied. "So wh-what?"

"And she can't even come back here." He continued. "She liked the library."

He could feel the angry gaze on him and Cuff's palms started to get sweaty. He was feeling a little guilty, but at the same time, he didn't realize that Merianna would get pulled into this situation. The gardener in front of him grumbled at him. Cuffs looked away, feeling the heat crawl through him.

"I know." He replied curtly.

"How would you know?" the chef snapped.

The heat was definitely in his face and he could feel it radiate off his cheeks. It was very much like an interrogation in the room and he knew they wanted answers.

"W-Well…I grew up with her of course…" he muttered quietly.

'Bad Influence' was written all over their faces.

"Tell us what you know about her." The chef demanded.

They all had dark auras around their faces. Cuffs sat still, stubbornly shaking his head.

"Why'd yous wanna know? I ain't gonna peach on her." He grumbled.

"Not going to tattle, not going to give away anything on her." The chef mumbled, translating his words.

"Because we care!" The maid blurted out. "It feels like we never sat down to talk about Merianna, her past, her details…and now because of this…"

Cuffs breathed out heavily and clasped his hands together, leaning forward. Only he would know the most about her. He understood how worried they were, because he was too. If the Earl didn't succeed, and he was arrested, who would be the one to carry on her story?

* * *

Jake rounded the corner, money pouch in his hands. Earlier he was pretending to have a broken leg, begging for a ride to the hospital. One lady stopped her carriage and gushed over how poor and pitiful he was wailing. Once he snatched the money pouch lying at her feet, he launched himself over the side door and onto the streets he set off running. He only stopped near the old well when the angry sounds disappeared. Panting heavily, he leaned back against the well, taking a breath.

He couldn't wait until he could count the money. Judging from the size of the carriage for just one person, she was _very _rich. And gullible. He hoped there was enough for a warm loaf of bread at least. He hadn't eaten for three days already, and he was getting weaker. He heard a splash behind him, looking back to secure his…

Oh…it fell in.

He stood, mouth wide open at the dark opening, watching the last ripples. His mind was unable to comprehend the traumatic event and he just stood there, as if frozen in time. The well was not deep, but he wouldn't know how to get out of the well. He leaned further, trying to find the pouch in the waters. A second shadow suddenly appeared next to him.

He gasped and heaved himself upward, startled. He stepped backwards and yelled out a surprised 'hey!' There was a girl there in a small sky-blue dress. Her eyes were deep brown and she clutched a hardcover book in her delicate hands. The thing that caught his eye most was her hair, the colour of creamy milk, tied into two long braids behind her.

"I thoughts somebody was there!" He snapped. "Dons't creep around me like that! I almost fell in from the fright you gaves me!"

Her face seemed unreadable, but there was an aura of worry around her.

"B-Bad! Not s-sssafee…euhh…" she mumbled, pointing to the well.

"Dons't worry, I ain't that stupid." He replied. "Dons't bother me, I'm busy!"

She had an accent, heavy on her words and unsure of them too. She didn't seem to understand him. Oh well, he shook his head and turned back to the well. He couldn't remember if gold floated or not. He was sure it didn't, maybe that was just the light that made it seem like it was floating upwards an-

"What iz…what iz…"

She came beside him and pointed into the dark waters, obviously asking him what he was doing.

"Didns't I say to leave me alone?" He snapped. "I dropped my money down this stupid well…Yous breakin' my concentration!"

It was already late in the day, any more time wasted talking to a girl and he'd be in trouble with whoever was keeping this nosy child. She tapped his shoulder and when he looked, she pointed to the inside of her book. Jake guess she didn't understand 'leave me alone' in English.

"I cans't read. Cannot. Read. Unable." He grumbled. "No reading."

The girl's cheek puffed up as she frowned.

"Burrrd…Burrrd…black. Fell eenside…in book." She tried. "Swim. Sweeming."

He was getting very frustrated with trying to decipher her. "Yeah, yeah. I cans swim, but this is a well, dummy. I'll break my neck tryin'a swim in this!"

And there was no bird that fell inside either. She puffed her cheek again and pointed to the metal bucket next to the well. Jake guess she wasn't aware of how things were run in England. The well _used _to have a bucket and line to fetch water, but the pulley had long broken and it stood uselessy. He growled like a dog and ignored her, looking back into the well for another plan.

She said something in another language, picked up the bucket and headed somewhere else. Just as Jake was dreaming up a plan about tossing someone else in and claiming they stole his money, water was dumped in front of him. The girl was the one pouring water into the well from the bucket, panting heavily. She was sweating and her hair was strewn around. She pointed again to the dark water, halfway to the top of the well.

"Sweem. Sweem zhere." She said.

Her thinking suddenly hit Jake. If there was enough water in the well, maybe he could dive down, get the pouch and swim back up. The well wasn't that deep, and three more buckets of water might be enough.

He stuck his palm out towards the girl, repeating what he saw the grown-ups do when they meet or thank someone. She looked at him with a questioning gaze, then to his hand. She reached her hand out, mimicking his gesture. He sighed, grabbed her hand and shook it.

"My name is Jake." He introduced.

"My…name isss…Jake." She repeated.

"No, girl. Your name…your _naaaaame._ What yous call yousself."

He pointed to himself, saying his name, then pointed to her. After repeating the gesture a few more times, she suddenly brightened.

"My…naaaaame…is…Jake." She repeated.

He facepalmed, giving up.

The girl clapped her hands when they brought in the last bucket. It was so heavy it took two of them to fetch the water from the river and drag it to the well. It must have taken the girl hours to fetch the first bucketful. The water was now at the well's edge, some spilling over. Jake had gone swimming, teaching himself how to move his way around the water, but he was scared now of the well. What would happen if there was not enough space and he got stuck trying to turn around? Then again, no one would care about one street-brat drowning in a well.

It was late evening now. He took off his thread-bare cotton shirt and his wooden shoes. He heard a squeal behind him. The girl was covering her face with the book she had with her.

"What?!" He snapped.

She didn't answer, only shaking her head as her tiny body trembled. He ignored it and took off his short trousers too. There was no point in getting all of his clothes wet. It was easier to dry skin than cotton. The water was cold, but he clambered into the well. He treaded water for a minute, getting use to the temperature as his teeth chattered noisily. He took a deep breath and dove.

Using one hand against the side of the stone well and the other to plug his nose together, he slowly felt his way to towards the bottom. He couldn't open his eyes, but he felt the bottom of the well and groped around. There were slimy things, round things, stony things. Just when he was going to head back for more air, his hand landed on something that felt like…no that was just another rock.

No, he found it after reaching beside it. He tugged it out and it was around the same weight and texture as above surface. Something slid against his elbow, something sharp. He didn't let go, and he turned around to head back up. The circular space was small, and he had to squirm and do a somersault in the water to right himself up. It was hard swimming back up the well; he couldn't hold his nose anymore as the water rushed in.

When he made the surface, it was like he had never tasted air before. His mouth ejected any water that entered and he slammed the pouch on the side on the well. He wasn't sure if he had the strength to clamber out until he felt hands take his wrist and help pull him out.

The girl had her eyes squashed shut, yet she was still pulling his arm. He clambered over the side and dropped onto the floor of the land outside the well. Shivering, he shook his head and wiped his body with his hands, trying to get the water out. He dressed, although he was still cold. There was a gash on his arm from his adventure, and it was bleeding now. The girl was sitting on the floor, reading her book while he dressed and checked himself.

When he was finished, he held the money pouch in his hands and watched the gas lamps being lit. It suddenly occurred to him how dark it was.

"Well, thanks, girl. Now I gotta go." He said, waving.

"Haaaah! Haaah!"

He turned back. It seemed like she was going to say something to him.

"Haaah-choo!"

She wiped her nose on her sleeve. He guessed that was a 'your welcome' in some other language, but managed a 'bless you' reply anyways.

"Cannot _go_." She squeaked. "Cannot go…how-hou-se."

He looked her up and down. Was she street-ridden like him? Her clothes certainly didn't fool him, and the fact that she could read was a sign of a warm dinner awaiting her and a bed to be tucked into. He didn't realize how neatly her hair was plaited or how stain-free her clothes were until now. Snobby rich kid…

Oh, she was crying now.

"H-Hey! What'smatter?!" He yelled.

He had the comforting skills of a rock.

"Cannot go h-house…! Finding…way go back!" she cried.

So she was lost. At least she wasn't demanding for her share of the money. He thought something was off when she appeared. There was no adult with her and she was even helping him late into the day. He grumbled, not used to having to care for another.

"G-Get up. I'll help you." He muttered, taking her wrists and pulling her up to her feet.

The girl tightly held Jake's hand, and as the night came closer, she grew more onto him…literally. She was now clinging to his whole right arm, squeezing close. His arm was getting numb, but he was too nervous to say anything. Thankfully it was not his left arm. Although she fussed over it in her language, neither of them knew how to treat it. She seemed to recognize some shops, fountains and parks along the way, but they had been wandering around for a while now.

He finally learned her name, and she repeated most of the things he said. She didn't have anything valuable on her either (he checked her pockets) except the hardcover book she clutched in her hands. From their fragmented conversations, he guessed that it must have been fairy tales. She was a quick learner, and her accent was lighter as she adapted to Jake's, although she still did not have the vocabulary down. Even Jake was learning some French words.

It was already late night and the air was chilly. Jake didn't have much clothing and he was still cold from the dip into the well. At least Merianna was keeping him warm. At least her hair stood out of the darkness.

"Hey, Merianna. Your hair is as glowy as the moon y'know?"

She stopped walking, so suddenly it jerked him back. She looked downwards, her hair completely shielding her face.

"Colours…iz rrotten egg…not…good."

"…Ithinksthey'salright"

They continued walking.

"Jake…house?" She questioned.

"I don't have one."

"Non?"

"…non."

He looked up and noticed a woman standing on the streets, her wavy long white hair down and she was in a dark green evening gown. She had a faint glow around her, or maybe that was the light from the house behind her. Merianna shifted from clinging to his arm to just holding his hands. She had quite a resemblance to this woman.

"Mamma!" She shouted happily.

The woman's stern face broke into a soft smile. Next to her elegant grace, Jake felt shabby and meagre.

"Thank you for bringing my daughter home." She said in perfect English with a perfect accent.

"I-I-I ju-j-ust I..err..." he couldn't form the words properly.

Merianna started talking and swinging Jake's hand back and forth, as if recalling to her mother the adventures they had. The smile suddenly disappeared when Merianna's mother's gaze changed from Merianna to Jake and back again. Merianna turned to Jake.

"Eenside. Jake _viens _in-side."

As much as he liked his new friend, he didn't want to have to come in and explain himself to her and her mother, who understood English perfectly. He pulled at his un-kept hair anxiously, mumbled good-night and ran off into the night.

* * *

"So what happened after? I mean…you both were friends right?" The red-haired maid asked.

"Er…I came by every few days t'say 'hello' and sometimes Merianna and I'd talk and learn how to read a littl'. Her mother wuz a governess for some others and sorta just…allowed my presence. It wuz…strange when her mother died."

"Did she ever talk about her father?" the chef asked.

Cuffs shook his head. "Said he was left behind when the ship left."

"So…how did her mother die?" the gardener asked.

"…I dons't know…all I knows is that she had weird rules and looked really pale when she passed." He replied.

"Weird rules?" the maid asked.

"Yeah, strange things like…well…Merianna wasn't allowed to eat apples, y'see? Except I kinda broke that whens I gaves her one once and turns out she liked them. She wasn't allowed to go near churches neither."


	10. To Find

"Are we really going to bring her back?" Sebastian muttered as he carried Ciel over the rooftops.

"When the truth comes out, it would be bad publicity for the Phantomhives to be wrong." He simply replied.

Sebastian stared at him a little deeper.

"…And the other servants are so dejected without her. It just seems more efficient."

"Before, you couldn't act because of the crime and accusation against her right?"

"Yes…"

"Liar." Sebastian sniffed. "It isn't just you who is in conflict with their feelings though, I'll give you that. With beings like that…"

"What do you mean, Sebastian?"

"Angels are the personal servants of God, the creator of humans. Without a doubt, all humans are naturally compelled, attracted, to the dogs of God, even if it conflicts with their real feelings for that person."

Ciel stayed quiet.

"It's a useless notion though; angels have never tasted the apple of Eden." He continued. "God created them **not** to understand love. Friendship and charity, yes, but they are not capable of understanding anything more than the love one would feel for a mere pet."

* * *

Merianna stepped in the crack of the double doors into the church. She had never been allowed inside one, but not it seemed so much bigger on the inside. There were rows of wooden benches covered with a layer of dust and a large table at the front. There was a giant cross on display that was the centrepiece of the church. Light shone inside and the stained glass windows illuminated it as it fell inside.

"Welcome." A soft voice said.

There was a woman sitting at the front pew, and turned to greet her. She too had white hair. She had beautiful eyes and a soft smile, although Merianna was startled at first.

"Why don't you come and sit with me?" She asked.

Merianna nodded, still entranced by her soft beauty. It reminded her a little of her mother's. The woman was wearing a white suit, one that looked a little familiar, but Merianna couldn't put her finger on it. She sat quietly down on the bench, which was uncomfortably hard. She couldn't imagine having to sit here for long periods of time.

"Do you know what this place is?" The woman asked.

"A…A church." She replied.

"And do you know what people do here?"

Merianna took a while to consider. She imagined that people who entered took the light that came into the building and made rainbows with the coloured windows, but she wasn't going to tell the lady that…and she could see that the building was less fanciful on the inside than she had imagined. In the end, she stayed silent.

"Merianna," she said softly. "Do you know who God is?"

She had sometimes heard of God. Mostly when adults were scolding her. She remembered asking her mother what some people meant by 'oh my god', but her mother only shook her head and sent Merianna to her room. She figured it was not a subject to talk about. Once again, she stayed silent. The woman laughed, not rudely, but a light-hearted chuckle.

"Do you believe in angels, dear child?"

Finally there was something she understood. They were in many a fairy tale she read, helping little good children on their tasks. She nodded her head. The lady smiled and suddenly stood up, back against the large cross. Suddenly, she seemed different. When she blinked, and suddenly there was no lady in front of her, but Ash Landers, and he had angel wings that burst out and stretched outwards.

They caste a shadow over Merianna, who held both hands to her mouth in awe and surprise. No doubt the Queen would associate with such divine creatures, but she had never believed what she was seeing. He smiled when he saw her face.

"So? Isn't it wonderful?" He asked. "Your mother was one…you know…"

She couldn't seem to form words, still gazing at the beautiful white wings. She looked at him with a questioning gaze. Her mother? Indeed her mother was angelic, but she had temper tantrums at times and didn't live in heaven. Her hair was indeed as white as snow, but she didn't have wings…or at least she never showed them.

"And you are one too. You are a special one." The woman continued.

"M-M-Me?" she stuttered. "I can change to be a girl _and _a boy? Do I get to fly too?!"

She didn't understand. She did not have wings to fly, she got hungry like every other human, and perhaps she didn't make a good angel after all. Ash folded his brilliant wings against his back, and sat down next to Merianna. He brought a hand up and brushed her cheek delicately. This time, she didn't flinch; she wanted to hear him out.

"But of course…your wings haven't been drawn out simply because you aren't aware of them…and your halo is missing."

He slid closer, running his hand on her head. He raked her hair sharply, but she didn't want to move.

"You remind me very much of your mother. Yes, you look alike to her…only…"

* * *

"W-Wait…there's something that kid don'st know 'bout Merianna." Cuffs continued. "She…she acts real strange sometimes. Just…I dons't know why…"

The servants had taken a break and introduced themselves to Cuffs formally. They all shared their love and wish for Merianna to come back to the mansion. To this, Cuffs reacted very hesitatingly, as he knew some things the other didn't.

"Before 'er mother died, she called me to her bedside whilst she sent Merianna to fetch water from the water pump outside. S'felt like she wanted to talk to me fer once…and just me. She asked me to keep this littl' box thing…she says it has Merianna's _halo_."

"A…_halo_? Finny asked. "Like an angel's halo?"

He nodded. "I though'st she wuz crazy too, 'till she suddenly grabs my hand and pulls me close, askin' me to take care of Merianna when she's gone. I tells her she's gonn' be alright, but she shakes her head n' insists that she ain't gonn' make it. And sure 'nuff, she passes away later."

By now, Cuffs was holding his mouth against a sleeve. It was causing him obvious sadness recalling the memory, but he kept his tears inside, trying to continue on with the story.

"I knews she sleep-walked, sometimes when we tries to take rest on a pile of hay and I wakes up and I sees her walkin' around mutterin' some strange words I don'st e'en recognize and it gets so scary when she don'st respond…I tries to keep 'er close under the coat at night…I thinks that's why she had that incident…"

"Meri…Meri…" Meirin mumbled. "She's told me that she was in a group of thieves before…she stopped though, did she?"

"IT'S BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO LEAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE THAT SHE ENDED UP LIKE THAT! IF SHE NEVER CHOSE TO LEAVE, THEN SHE WOULDN'T BE SO GOD DAMN HELPLESS WITHOUT ME!"

The group stayed quiet while he started to calm down. In his fury he stood up and knocked the chair over. He grabbed his head sadly and tried to stop the anger screaming in his head.

"She did stop…that's why…she just suddenly didn'st join us no more…said she'd do tarot readin' to get an honest living…'sit because our big cuzins…Spades and Shots…they was hanged at the gallows fer being caught pick-pocketing. Gave 'er a pretty big shock I s'pose. An' one day I hears a white-haired girl being condemned fer bein' a witch. A WITCH. A WITCH!"

He didn't want to hide his heat-filled face and watery eyes. The others could only stare at him with pitiful eyes. He slammed the arm of the chair trying to beat out the anger inside him.

"That was…Snowy?" Bardroy whispered.

"The hard part is that she don'st remember at all! Don'st remember anythin'! I don'st know what happened neither. Just when I gets to where the cross's s'pose t'be all I sees wuz the whole lot of adults all dead 'round the cross with their tongues lollin' out and their faces pure white!"

The grim looks on their faces was exactly the ones Cuffs expected.

"And Meri? What happened to her?" Finny asked.

"She's _smilin'_." He hissed in a low voice. "She wuz tied up t' the post with that barbed wire diggin' into her flesh an bruised from wherever the people's been taking it out on 'er…and she's smilin' so evilly it sended chills in my bones. There'd ain't anyone else out there…I'm **sure **she was the only influence inn'at place…those people…all dead."

"No…way…" Finny mumbled. "That's not Meri at all…! She's nice and kind, beautiful and forgiving…! She would never do that!"

"You callin' me a liar?" He snarled, standing up to challenge Finny.

He stood up, knocking his head against Cuffs, like two bulls locking into a fight.

"Yeah! I know Merianna and she would never do something like that! You must have just mistaken it or something! You're _trying_ to make her look like the criminal! You just hate her and wanted her to get thrown into jail or something!" He accused.

Cuffs backed off, laughing hard-heartedly. He pulled out the two cuffs he always had with him, one more used and worn that the other pair, which still had a polish on it.

"Y'know, after the police came, they arrested me fer the homicide of those twenty-four people and attempted murder! I escapes from the prison and I got meselfs outta the damned handcuffs! There ain't no Jake Hawkins in the records no more. And 'cause of her! I went to jail 'cause of her! And even if it kills me, I'm gonna get to that church and save her…"

"Yeah?" Bardroy grumbled. "You ain't going nowhere without us, unless you wanna die."

Cuffs snickered. "I'm a dead man, anyways. Once that Phantomhive kid gets back 'nd hands me over to the bobbies, there ain't no way I'm gonn' get out alive…"

"So you're going anyways, huh?" Meirin asked. "Why? To get back at her?"

"Nah, it ain't anythin' like that. S'cuz I loves her…I dunno...she's put me through hell and back...but I just cans't give up on 'er. Sounds crazy, don't it? "

Bardroy's fist met the top of Cuff's head in a deadly punch. He felt the numbing pain starting to flow, but not before his heavy body fell against the arms of the chair.

"You didn't have to do that, Bard." Meirin fussed. "Give the boy a concussion, why don't you."

"A split knee too while you're at it…" Finny grumbled. "We're going to help Merianna aren't we? We should just leave him behind…"

"Jealous now, are we?" Bardroy said teasingly.

* * *

"Will we able to get Merianna back? If you think she is an angel, shouldn't she have the power to avoid her death?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian fortunately knew quite a lot about angels and other mystical beings.

"If she did, she could have saved herself many an injury…don't you think? Young Master, even if we _do_ bring her back, there's no telling whether or not she will come after _your _soul next."

Sebastian, Ciel and Grell had almost arrived at the church. From the treetops, there was nothing special about the building and it looked run-down from being abandoned. Grell already had his chainsaw out, but Sebastian shooshed it away, claiming that the element of surprise would be on their side. He let Ciel down before pressing his ear against the crack between the doors. The rest of them stayed quiet.

Suddenly, something made a loud noise from Grell's pocket.

He panicked before drawing out a red device. He flipped it open to silence it and he was reading off it. Ciel and Sebastian groaned, but suddenly their attention was diverted to the light that streamed out the windows of the church. Grell drew out his chainsaw, revving it up.

"Soul tampering! Great, that's even worse than having to collect them!" He screamed. "Stupid William's already making preparations for that half-ass spell and he _still _expects a report on all this!"

He slammed the whirring blade against the wooden door, completely chopping it into pieces that went flying. The butler moved his arms at an amazing speed, preventing any from injuring his master. They burst inside the church, where various unconscious bodies lay, each with a cinematic record reeling from their torsos. There were numerous little boys sprawled on the floors, over the pews and in piles at the doors to the other rooms. The cinematic records acted as a veil, concealing whatever was before the altar.

"Can you see them, Merianna? These cinematic records from these utterly _filthy_ human beings…Yes…with so many here at once,_ any_ angel would come to their senses and follow the instincts to purify them!"

The reels dispersed into the air, Merianna was sitting on the altar, as if she had just woken up. Her messy hair had been covering her as she turned to look at the strange new things before her.

"Beautiful…like fairy tale books in a library…these are what human memories are made of…beautiful…" she mumbled, getting off the altar.

While she made her way to them, Grell barred his chainsaw, although he was unsure of who to cut.

"Beautiful…?" Ash muttered, gritting his teeth. "You think these things are _beautiful?_ These horrendous things are so full of lies! Deceit! Sins! How _dare_ you insult what is pure and elegant with that-that-that….slur!"

She was too entranced to care, and she felt something rip on her back, like a heavy snow blanket had wrapped around her shoulders and she felt numerous bones in her body cracking…still…the moving scenes were so enchanting, whirring out of the small boy's body. It seemed to recount things from his point of view as she watched him eating bread at a familiar table at a familiar hideout.

She reached out to touch one. How would it feel against her finger? Perhaps, she thought, it was malleable, physical, something she could hold in her hand to stuff in her pocket to read later. Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise caused her to step back while a man with long crimson hair wearing a large jacket whipped a large instrument at her. He didn't hit, as it was just a warning swing.

"Don't touch that, weird-little-angel-girl, or else I'd have to chop off one of your wings." He chuckled, revealing jagged shark-teeth.

Merianna looked behind her, seeing four feathered wings sprouting from her back. She was a little surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise. And it fit too, like finding the old and worn blanket one had as a child. She mumbled an 'oh'. When she came back to her senses, she took a look around. There was Ciel there, at the doorway, the usual frown perpetually drawn into his face. Sebastian was there beside him, face neutral, but she sensed something burning from his gaze.

The crimson-haired demon-thing swung the loud instrument at her again. She dodged, but suddenly she was seized from behind. Ash Landers held her arms behind her, and she could only squirm and move her wings a little. She still had not mastered them.

"Ash! Ash! What are you doing? Let me go!" She yelped.

There was a horrifying look of hatred in his eyes.

"Mutant! Atrocity!" He screamed. "I cannot believe that someone with such grotesque tastes such as you can be gifted with the wings of an angel! Perhaps it was a mistake…but we can correct this…"

"You! Death Reaper!" He called towards the red-clothed man, "Why don't you come and rip out two of this girl's wings? Maybe then she will understand the **pure **nature of angels! Freak! Your mother was hideous and imperfect, having four wings! I cannot believe that she gave birth to **you**and passed this _ugliness_ forward!"

Ash held Merianna still and cackled insanely. The 'Death Reaper' seemed puzzled at first, but he held up his instrument with a wild smile.

"Perhaps I'll just take out both of these pests at one go!" The reaper spat.

Merianna let out a shriek when the reaper attacked, and everything went away. She heard the sound of glass cracking, and she was suddenly in the abysmal darkness in which only she provided the only faint light. In the black ceiling of the unknown space, was a white crack, as if someone had hit it with a hammer. Merianna sat on her knees, crying steadily and holding her fists to her eyes.

"Come now, child. Do not weep upon thyself, hath thee lost faith?" A voice said.

When Merianna looked up, there was a clothed man looking down on her who looked familiar. He was roped in various twines and ropes which reminded Merianna of the shrouds on pirate ships. The gray hair contoured his face, old with age but young as an adult. Merianna recognized him when she saw the sad eyes shining down upon her.

"Y-You're…you're the man who visited me…when I was little." She said. "Everyone else said you didn't exist…"

Merianna didn't understand how this man came to be here, now. Was she dead? Certainly the man's face softened upon being recognized.

"That is correct, Merianna. Dost thee remember my name of which I am numbered?" she asked softly.

"I-I called you _Deus, _haven't I? You were…an 'imaginary friend'."

"…Perhaps that is…what the people would call us…in relation to thee…but I am here to help, Merianna."

"If that's true, then we're all imaginary." A double-voice snickered.

She looked around the black space. There was nothing except for the ragged man. Gradually, a two headed beast appeared. It looked like a sphinx, but it had two heads with a scorpion's tail. It reminded Merianna of the time she read about manticores, and had trouble sleeping. The beast in front of her she recognized as the 'two-head kitten' that told her it would eat up all the bad dreams she was having and let her sleep that night.

Deus bent down, and held up a calloused hand. Merianna touched the palm with her fingers, confirming his physical state.

"The men outside will kill you, Merianna. But I shant allow that. Trust in me."

He dropped his hand, leaving behind in Merianna's hand the card of The Hanged Man.

"We'll protect you again," the woman and man heads on the creature said. "Except this time, they're more than just dreams…Deus, the Emperor has ordered us to act over you."

One of the heads produced something in their mouths, gagging it out until it sat on their tongues, the card of The Chariot.

* * *

Of course, with Finnian at the reins (Tanaka was not up for the adventure today), he yanked the horses back so much they buckled and reared, eventually ripping the reins in half and when Finny tried to calm the horses down, the tug on the horses (I think that's what they call the rod bit that connects to the horse's girth) broke and the horses ran off into the woods after crashing the buggy into the forest.

The servants all clambered through the side door; Bardroy had to carry out Cuffs, who had his hands tied behind him. They didn't trust him, and would've left him there, but they didn't trust him to keep himself alive. He didn't protest at all, staying quiet with his head low. After Bardroy and Meirin had done chiding Finnian, they discussed their solutions.

"We can walk back to the estate and fetch another buggy?" Meirin suggested.

"Can't." Bardroy replied simply. "Even if we _ran_ we wouldn't get back until the next week or so…and we aren't near the town neither. The church is still a distance away…but arg…to be honest, I'm not even sure where we are."

"Finny!" Meirin hissed.

He was sobbing loudly and apologizing, trying to flip the carriage back onto its triangle-shaped wheel, but only succeeded in causing more damage.

"Crap, I guess we _will _have to trek back to the mansion…it's around north-east from here. We better get a move on before the sun sets. We'll have to leave the buggy here. Hey kid! You all right to…" Bardroy yelled, stopping mid-sentence.

Cuffs was gone. Where he was standing earlier was an abandoned length of rope. No doubt if someone could undo locks, they would be able to handle knots. Silly Phantomhive servants!

* * *

'That Landers fellow is going to kill you if you don't protect yourself' the male-head Satu concluded.

"Risado sirscunus…Satu" Meriann commanded.

She pointed her attention to the giant wooden cross and willed it into existence, taking shape of the friend she had in her youth. It came alive before her eyes, and its beady eyes stared at her. She smiled a little, knowing that he meant a 'good job' with his regard. Its huge bottom fangs protruded out of its shaved human head. He had a wooden deature to him and rough borders that contrasted the scorpion sting on the end of his tail. Merianna looked to the large piano with pipes protruding from it, willing the other beast into creation.

By then, the male Satu was already attacking Ash Landers. It swiped at him with its paws while Ash dodged. Merianna was focusing on shaping the female Satu when she emerged from the instrument. With brass ringlets on the human face diamond-shaped eyes and a clang every time she took a step forward, she get a growl escape from her lipless mouth.

"It ffffeeels sssso gooooodddd…to be oooout agaaaaain…" she hissed, turning to the red reaper. "I mussssst…ek…ek…exercccccise these booooones…."

She roared as she attacked Grell, who held his chainsaw up defensively. She tried to clamp onto it with her mouth, finding that it was ripping into her face and jumped back, a cut smile grinning back at him. Drool escaped her bloodied mouth and dripped to mix with the blood.

Merianna couldn't understand some things. She couldn't understand why her mother died, she couldn't understand why Cuffs liked her one minute and hated her the next, she didn't understand why she was held at the cross for giving people what they wanted to hear, why Ciel Phantomhive had thrown her out after she had thought she was turning a new page or why he himself was standing at the threshold of the building, staring coolly at her with that annoying butler at his side.

All she wanted to do was to get rid of the scarlet man and Ash Landers. Ash called her mean things she did not like and wanted to cut off her wings. The man with the whirring strange machine scared her. That was simply it.

This was the first time she had gotten so much power in her hands. If she had these before, perhaps she wouldn't have had to live such a hard life, living on meager portions and having to steal to live another day. She could have just _taken _it instead. She could have taken her peace from every person that ever took it from her. She could have just _taken _a place in the Phantomhive mansion instead of having to slave away at it, and Sebastian wouldn't be able to tamper with it anymore.

There was no good for such a cruel and cold child like Ciel to continue living on and become an even more taciturn adult. Perhaps he took after Sebastian. She decided that she would kill Ciel Phantomhive and take the mansion for herself. She could return to her friends, who were bound to be there waiting for her.

Indeed, the world seemed so much simpler and flawless that way.

She recognized the boy nearest at her feet, sneering as she put her boot against Trip-Link's dead body. He was much too corrupt, too unclean to continue in life. He had treated her very badly, and now he had to pay for it. _Serves you right…_she thought_…never thought you were dealing with an angel, did you?_

The same white strip of something started flowing out of his chest; the thing that the others called the cinematic record. It seemed to have been a record for something, memories. She stared at it, watching the scene from inside his head. It pulled her in, as if she had fallen into a pond and awoke on the other side…wearing his skin.

A younger Cuffs was moving towards him, battered beyond measure and handcuffed. He explained about escaping jail and throwing his documents out into the river. The young Trip-Links was still very young, possibly freshly thrown out of the workhouse and tugged at Cuff's sleeve and asked him a million questions. Cuffs hastily brushed him away, demanding to speak to someone else.

"It's 'cuz of'ta gerl, in'nit?" Trip-Links asked. "Yous always be'en obzzessed an' worr'n, e'en dough yous says yous-self tat she left!"

"Shuts your mouth, Joshua! This dons't concerns you!" snapped Cuffs. "I'll have you know that's on'y 'cuz the next I see 'ers I'm gonna give 'her a meetin' with these god-damn-"

He struck his handcuffs against the stone wall, the loud crash shocked Trip-Links, who jumped a little.

_Well, if he can, _he thought, _that means I cans too!_

Merianna remembered the next memory, as it entwined in her own. The next time they had met, Trip-Links started lashing out and slapping her arm and legs with his little palms like a fussy baby. She did note how uncomfortable he was in his mind during this. He was such an uncontrollable child…

Why was she feeling sympathy for him now? She did recall the memory with a faint chuckle at how silly the poor child looked, spoiled into acting however he pleased. Children were incapable of producing such evil thoughts, only learning it from others. Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding between them, a combination of two feeble and childish minds not yet ready to deal with learning to coexist with one another. She felt her beating heart. It was hers that was still beating and not his…not anymore.

She crouched down to look closer onto his sleeping face. It was pure, radiating of an unknown innocence, but it was empty and would never change to a smile or laugh again. She recognized the face of the little boy who had thrown stones at her, called her names and caused her more injuries than she could remember, but she also observed the face of a child who knew nothing of the concepts of being kind for the sake of being kind, the charity that came from a wholesome heart. Living from the streets, no one ever had a wholesome _anything_, Merianna understood.

She wrung her hands and cried for the story of the boys who won't have a happy ending. This wasn't the angel she had hoped to be. Her whole body drooped as her laments reached the ears of everybody and they stopped to look at her, even Satu.

"How foolish…this is why humans are so disgusting… Empathy… compassion… no _angel_ would ever feel _anything _like that!" Ash spat.

"_Einverb siny-anchr_!" the two Satus said in unison.

He suffered a bloody wound on his arm, where his elbow was. He looked unwilling to continue lifting his arm, a useless wound as it prevented him from further swinging the golden rapier. Even Sebastian seemed to have been revolted at the scene.

"Unnatural…" He muttered. "A dog of God having such human feelings, an unholy offspring of an angel and a human, resulting in such abnormality…"

"S-Stop this!" Merianna cried, voice cracking. "S-Stop fighting, Satu! I don't want…I don't want this to happen to people anymore…"

The two sphinxes hissed like deflated balloons, dropping to a sitting position hesitantly. With a soft chiming, they started piecing away, reforming back the untouched organ and wooden cross amidst the crushed stained windows, broken pews and dead bodies. Merianna was still overcome with sorrow, regretting ever feeling anger and spite for them in the first place. Humanity had deserved better.

"Can their souls be returned, Grell?" Ciel whispered, watching the four-winged angel cry.

"Yah~ That would make my job much easier. That boy's was the last to snuff out. With all the turmoil that happened here, the presence of two angels here…the Soul Reaper Society decided to call a _vitirritum_ on this whole sector."

He stopped his chainsaw, whipping it back into oblivion. It was obvious that he was done here. Ciel asked him for clarification.

"In order to prevent the angels from tampering with the plays, they put a spell in this vicinity to make instant deaths." He explained. "Any cinematic record that is cut from a human's body is automatically cut, no matter whether it is judged or not. Unless an angel already touched it…like she has that last one. The Ministry would much rather deal with annulled judging than not being able to store books correctly in the library."

A few moments after he disappeared, Sebastian shushed Ciel and carried him up to the rooftops, perching on the rafters. Below, a black-haired boy ran into the church. Ciel recognized it as the Hawkins man. He growled, but Sebastian shook his head. He was supposed to stay quiet and not interfere.

Straight away, Cuffs had caught on to what happened, although not as well as he believed to have. He stared wide-eyed at the numerous corpses around the church. There were not only the 'cousins' from his gang, but boys that appeared in monk clothes and some even in shabby slave clothing. He clamped a hand over his mouth to suppress the cry that escaped his mouth. He noticed Merianna kneeling and crying at the front, with four feathered white wings dangling around her. They seemed to lie low, as if trying to shield her, but he could recognize the crying anywhere.

"Merianna…dons't tell me…yous did it…again…" He faltered.

She didn't answer, too stricken with sadness to even utter a sound apart from heavy sobbing.

"S'not even the townspeople anymore, Merianna! These were our friends, our _family…_! H-How…How could you even _do_ this?" He stressed, voice failing him too. "Please…dons't tell me you killed them all…"

He fell to his knees, unable to withstand the reality that was crashing down on him. Merianna had wiped her eyes and held her mouth to try to form words, looking at him with the most innocent eyes in the world.

"J-J-Jake…wh-what…what k-k-k-ki-kind of a-an-an-gel am I?" she mumbled, unable to bring herself to look him in the eyes any longer. "I don't want this to happen…not anymore…I don't want…this…"

He pounded the floor with his fists, trying to be strong, but there was only so much one could handle. It must have been shameful to cry in front of a girl, but she was already a mess herself. Without even noticing, he had already run up to her and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up to her unwilling feet. Her white hair was clinging to the tears on her face, obscuring it completely. But she knew that he was crying too. She didn't need to see to hear it in his voice.

"How many more?!" He screamed. "How many more 'till yer satisfied, Merianna?! When's you gonn' stop it? Yer killin' me too, y'know!? **Every**. **Single**. **Time. **WHY…WHY?!"

She didn't answer him at all, simply taking in and soaking up the words. The questions burned into her mind, but she had no answers to extinguish them. She could do nothing but dangle there. She raised her hands to hold the ones he had around the collar of her shirt.

He thought of strangling her right there, but he saw the genuine remorse in the red-eyes she kept hidden under her white hair. He was never able to, and never would be able to. Cuffs let go of her, instead, pulling her in close and wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. She breathed in the smell of his familiar oversized coat.

" I-I…I didn't know…at all, Jake! There were my friends…who told me to meet Mr. Landers and he would help me get back on my feet! I thought everything would be all right!" She wailed. "He told me things about my mother I didn't know myself! He told me I was special, he told me that I was an angel! He put me to sleep and he said he would show me how humanity was! When I woke up, they were…lying here! Dead!"

She hadn't gotten to the part of telling him the things she had seen coming out of their lifeless bodies, or the anger she felt for them, but there was already too much said.


	11. Broken Things

After Merianna had pulled away from her friend and wiped her eyes, she looked morosely at the bodies around her. They were scattered among shattered wood and debris, innocent losses from the results of their battle. Beside her, Cuffs picked up a piece of white paper that somehow sustained everything. Peeking over his shoulder, she read it too. It was signed Ciel Phantomhive, but that was all she could see before Cuffs crumpled it in his hands.

"Let's just get outta here." He mumbled dejectedly. "There ain't nuttin' else to do here…"

The look on Merianna' face was a mixture of uncertainty, a quiet disagreement and distress.

"It ain't like we have the time and energy to bury 'em all!" Cuffs snapped, grabbing her hand roughly. "Let's just go. I gots to get you back to that mansion place."

He was practically dragging her down the aisle. Thankfully, she followed without resistance. He knew that if he stopped and glanced down, the image of his dead friends' faces would be burned into his mind forever. It was even worse when he had to step over the bodies of the little children he didn't even know, mixed with the debris on concrete and wood. He hoped the sweat from his hands would smudge the ink from the note. Cuffs was suspicious of how pristine it was. It was a written order for him to return with Merianna to the estate, or _else_. Cuffs was already a dead man either way, but he didn't want Merianna to be aware of the situation. Now there was the problem of returning to the estate.

The outside air was chilly, and it was near evening. Soon, it would be dark and they would stumble around lost in the forest.

"Hey, Merianna, d'you thinks you can fly us back?" He asked.

She stared at her bare feet, giving a slight shiver from the cold. No answer. He shook her hand, asking again, but he couldn't get to her. He took it as a no. Suddenly, he heard shuffling behind him. Spinning around, there was a creepy man on his hands and knees, sniffing at the ground. He wore a nice suit, but it was getting dirty from the earth he was digging up.

"Cuffs,"

Merianna had apparently woken up from her silence, looking up at him.

"That dog is a devil dog, from the Phantomhive house. Maybe he knows the way back." She suggested.

He took another look at where she was looking at. Perhaps the fight was too much on her and she had gone insane. That was no dog; it was just a strange man. He rubbed his eyes, just to make sure. It was still a man pawing the ground. And now Merianna was calling it over.

The dog-man responded to 'Pluto' and ran to them, wobbly on his two legs. Cuffs gave a surprised jolt when a bark came out of his mouth. He sniffed around their feet as well, and seemed to be okay with Merianna petting his head.

"You know…before…I didn't seem to notice that Pluto could speak."

Cuffs didn't hear anything from the dog-man, and the situation was progressively getting more insane. The dog-man suddenly backed away and let out a loud howl. His clothes ripped apart and he grew larger in size. Fur covered his body and suddenly he was truly a devil dog before his very eyes. Merianna seemed just as surprised as he was. Pluto sat down, which cause a shockwave that knocked them off their balance. Little flames came from his mouth as he panted and wagged his tail.

"You ain't joking 'bout a demon dog!" Cuffs exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe'll let us ride him back!"

The two of them had to totem pole to be able to clamber up to Pluto's back. Apparently the dog knew the concept of being ridden, as he allowed them on and awaited command. Cuffs seated himself near Pluto's neck and held on the fur tightly. He buttoned his coat around Merianna and himself, just in case. Another reason was because he was too embarrassed to ask her to hold onto him directly.

"Go!" Cuffs commanded, bracing himself.

Nothing happened.

"Perhaps you have to say it nicely." Merianna suggested.

"…Go, Pluto!..._please…_"

Pluto didn't seem to hear them, lazily raising his leg to scratch his ear. Cuffs tried to urge him forward, lightly kicking his heels and patting his side, but nothing seemed to work.

"Kihihihihi~ an angel that doesn't know how to ride a devil dog…what a sight." a voice snickered.

There was another man with long white hair hiding his face and long black robes. He looked strikingly familiar…and creepy…but Cuffs couldn't place a name. He laughed and made twitchy movements. Merianna poked her head out from the large coat to take a look at the stranger.

"Well…I don't usually ride dogs…" she mumbled.

The strange man seemed to find that hilarious, bursting into laughter as he clutched his stomach and fell to the ground, rolling insanely around. Cuffs wondered how many more incomprehensible things he would see today.

"Would you like…to know, young lady?" He offered, getting the last of chuckles out of his system.

Merianna nodded excitedly. Cuffs stayed silent, obviously not being addressed at all.

"Well, why don't you take the head of the reins first?" He suggested.

Cuffs felt stupid; of course it should have been Merianna at the head. After struggling to switch places, he found himself having to teeter between the sides of the large dog. The strange man tossed a parcel at Merianna. She caught and unravelled it to receive several bone-like biscuits; no doubt they were dog treats.

"Ah yes, and as a small consolation for my hasty mistake at your mother's funeral…all those years ago…" He said.

Both of their ears perked up when he said this, although none of them knew what he was talking about. He took off his hat and bowed before them.

"I've heard that it will be an acceptable way for the dead to be burned…_crementation_, they call it. I'm sure that if you will, this devil dog will produce the sparks you need."

In an instant, he disappeared.

"What was that?" Merianna mumbled. "Is he telling us to burn the dead?"

A faint wind blew around them as Merianna considered her choices.

"It would be…better than just leavin' em there…" Cuffs inputted.

"Pluto, burn the church, please." She said, leaning over to his ear.

Obediently, he turned around and sucked in the air.

"Haaah! He's really going to do it!" Merianna exclaimed.

A jet of flame erupted from his mouth and towards the church. It quickly caught on fire, smoke rising and glass shattering. Cuffs didn't object, because he felt it was the right thing to do too. He still wondered about the strange man's words. How would he know about her mother?

"Merianna, ain't that sir the man who helped bury your mother those years ago?" He realized.

She didn't answer, only gripping onto Pluto's fur tighter as he watched the fire blaze and carry away everything there. Cuffs slowly wrapped his arms around Merianna's waist, as support and to brace himself.

Ciel Phantomhive waited impatiently, beating Finny for the thirty-seventh time in chess. Finny didn't seem to want to sacrifice his pawns, even when it was to his advantage. Meirin and Bardroy were even worse, keeping their pieces as far away from him as possible. Finally, Ciel called for Sebastian, asking if Merianna and 'Hawkins' had returned yet. It was already very late, and there was still the possibility of him running away at the last minute.

"Sebastian! I've had enough!" He cried, standing up and pacing around the room. "Get me the police!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "No need, Young Master."

As if on cue, a howl grew louder and louder in the distance and the ground shook slightly.

"Plu?" Finny mumbled.

The three servants excused themselves and left the room hurriedly. They followed the noises until they stood outside, searching for their dog in the night. Sure enough, the devil dog walked calmly to meet them. It stopped and sat down, wagging its tail. Merianna and Cuffs slid down his back and back onto the ground.

"M-Meri!" Meirin cried.

"And you!" Bardroy barked.

"W-Why'd you come back?" Finny asked, almost bursting into tears.

"Because she was ordered to bring Mr. Hawkins back."

Ciel, arms crossed and a frown on his face, stayed on top of the stairs, looking down on them. Merianna tilted her head, confused.

"I don't…know…?"

She turned to Cuffs, but he looked away. She didn't recall meeting or speaking to Ciel prior to returning now.

"It'll save me the trouble of sending my own butler to hang you." He said, addressing Cuffs.

"H-Hang?!" Merianna asked, clenching her fists. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Don't question your master like that, Merianna."

"But you aren't my master anymore! You ah…I was…_mis à la porte!_" She protested. "You though I stole the ring!"

"Now I know that you didn't." He replied. "Thanks to the confession of this man here."

"I'm sorry…I wanted…to make things right again…" Cuffs said. "I didn't tell you this…"

He took a glance at her, and she held his eyes, begging for his denial of the situation, but he couldn't reply. She turned back to Ciel.

"Y-You can't take him… What are you going to do?"

"I'm doing what the law dictates me to do, Merianna. I'm sending him to the police to be tried…if he manages a hearing…"

"He's…He will _be hanged_!"

Cuffs flinched at the words; it sparked bad memories for both of them.

"If you are defying me, then I'll have _you_ arrested as well!"

"**FINEEEEEEE**!" She screamed, the loudest she had ever been the whole story.

The others looked at her with surprise too. Her face was red with fury and bitterness filled her voice. She was yelling empty threats and child-like insults. Ciel grumbled and massaged his forehead.

"Sebastian, I will deal with this tomorrow. Give them a room, but do not let them escape."

"If I had shoes right now, I would throw them at you, Ciel Phantomhive!"

"Also, please calm her down."

"I will steal all your doorknobs an-"

She didn't finish her sentence before Sebastian gave her a sharp hit on the stomach, knocking her out. Cuffs yelled out in surprise, but not before he too was knocked out.

Merianna had woken up in one of the guestrooms, some leftover food and a warm set of clothes greeted her tenderly. The fire was lit, but a protective grate stood in front of it. On the mantle sat some books on display, no doubt for her to entertain herself with. Merianna tried the door, but it was locked. She also tried the window, but it was also locked with no way of picking it open. Perhaps the only thing being locked out of the Phantomhive mansion was being locked inside when she didn't want to be.

All the while, her imagination repeated her memories of the horrible hanging in her mind, only this time it was with Cuffs' body swinging alongside Spades and Shots. When she gave up trying to find a means to escape and fell into the chair, a knock sounded at the door. Meirin, Finny and Bard poked their heads inside. They approached her and crowded around the chair she sat in, burying her face in her hands. She stood around quietly.

"D-Did you want to be…left alone…?" Meirin asked.

She took a deep breath and raised her head a little, not wanting to hide from the moment of truth.

"I want…to know what happened…is he…gone now?" Merianna questioned with a shaky voice.

"Not until tomorrow, Snowy…not until tomorrow."

"Why?"

The group shifted uncomfortably, like parents trying to explain a difficult concept to a child.

"Well, Meri…he did some bad things…stealing the noble lady's ring…" Meirin explained. "He has to go to jail for that."

"B-But…only _bad people_ go to jail." She reasoned.

"What kind of people are 'bad people' then?" Bardroy asked.

She frowned, noticing the flaw in her logic. She was about to say 'people who killed', but perhaps everyone in that room already suffered that, her included. 'People who are mean' couldn't apply to everyone either. Bardroy took out a toothpick and chewed on it, clasping his hands and leaning forward.

"This isn't a death sentence, Snowy. He'll have a chance to be heard and the jury'll decide what is gonna happen. Judging by his age, they'll probably let him off with just a few weeks in jail."

Merianna shook her head. "He's going to die. For sure…I know…"

"You wouldn't know that until…well…until…"

"I heard it…from one of my friends…" she insisted. "_Dris-Vit_ knows everything under the moon…because she _is _The Moon. All knowledge and things unknown are _found _on the moon…she told me…that the townspeople won't be generous 'cause they knows he's a thief. And because he ain't in the records they'll be suspicious and…and..and…"

She had to stop and calm her fraying nerves. Meirin excused herself, telling Merianna that she would fetch calming tea.

"Maybe you're over thinking this, Meri." Finny said. "I mean… why do you care so much?"

She stared at him, asking for an elaboration on his part. He looked away, but continued.

"I think…maybe it's best to let your past go Meri, and maybe he doesn't have to be…hanged but…I don't think Young Master will let him come back here…we could just…go on as we have before…"

Bardroy made a cutting motion to his neck, directing it at Finnian. He mouthed 'jealous' before Meirin walked back, a tea set wobbling and teetering on the cart. Bardroy pulled the nightstand close so that Meirin could put them down. She poured a cup and offered it to Merianna.

"Thank you." She said, accepting the warm drink.

She drank it slowly.

"H-How does it taste?" Meirin asked cheerfully.

"Good, sweet. Reminds me of home." She replied.

Meirin stifled giggled, although the rest of them looked at her with a questioning glance. Merianna finished it, suddenly swishing something in her cup. She drew out a bent piece of wire, a loop in the middle.

"Oh, how _terribly sorry_. That must have…errrr…_fallen in_…" Meirin said, enunciating several of her words. "It would be…_surprising_ if someone was hidden in the bottom cabinet of this cart…but then again…many people _would _fit inside…"

Clearly she was hinting at something, so Merianna followed her vague instructions and opened up the small doors.

"Hi." Cuffs greeted, stuffed uncomfortably inside the small space.

Merianna laughed and poked her trapped friend, only relenting when he surrendered and asked for help. Unlike Merianna, he was still in his shoddy wear, not being given any clothes to change into.

"He can't stay here very long; I know Sebastian will be checking in on him soon." Meirin warned, pushing up her glasses and looking proud.

"I'll be quick." He replied, squeezing out.

Cuffs took the silvery white container out of the inside of his coat.

"Your mother gave me this before she…passed away. I can't open it; even that butler couldn't so it's jammed pretty tight." He started.

He demonstrated the container, trying to pry to it open. It remained stubbornly shut.

"Your mother warned me not to opens it. She said it has your…err…_halo_ in it…and if I were to opens it and gives the thing back t'you…you'd go away forever…"

"Go away? W-Where?" Merianna asked.

"I…don't know…but maybe you should keeps it. I dons't…know if…" He trailed off, not able to finish his sentence.

His hand lingered a bit longer before letting go of the small container into her hands. She examined it a little more closely, although she too was unable to open it.

"Well how is she supposed to use it when she can't even open it?" Finny grumbled.

Merianna puzzled a bit more over the halo-box before nodding and tucking it in the pocket of her nightdress.

"Uh…two more things." He said. "Y-You dons't have to…attend the…whatever happens…"

He took off his signature coat and placed it on her shoulders.

"And dons't…Dons't forget me…" he mumbled, looking dejectedly.

She took something and held it out to him in return. It was a tarot card, The Wheel of Fortune.

"This card brought me luck once." She sniffled. "Perhaps it will, you."

Meirin took a tissue too and dabbed at her eyes, as if she were watching a tragedy play. Cuffs looked at Merianna before looking uncomfortably at the rest of their friends. Obviously he didn't feel their presence necessary there.

"I uhh…I …errrr…uhmmm...I..." He stuttered, trying to put his locomotive mode of transportation of thoughts into comprehensible words…but it's never that easy.

The others could probably have deduced the sentence, but Merianna was not one of 'the others'. He was even making strange hand motions in an effort to convey his message. Merianna tilted her head and tried to guess along, but the hints, however obviously crimson they were to the servants, were too vague for her to understand.

He sighed and mumbled a 'never mind', clambering back into the small cabinet. Finny and Bard also felt the need to leave Merianna alone. Meirin closed the small doors and proceeded to push the heavy cart out the doors again, locking it behind her. After they all left, Merianna fell to her knees and wrapped the large coat around herself. She didn't want to cry in front of him. No matter in whatever situation, her red-face was the biggest insult to herself and gave her pain, suffering and weakness away.

Only Finnian stayed outside the doors to the room, listening to her sobbing quietly.

Meirin and Bardroy also heard the sound of sadness from inside the cart. They stayed quiet, but felt pity for the boy.

"It ain't right to kiss an angel, ain't it?...I cans't even…" came his small voice. "It ain't right for a normal human to love one either, ain't it?"

Merianna wasn't sure when she fell asleep, only that she was crying for a very long time. For a moment, she was confused at how heavy the covers were, but then remembered that she was in the guestroom now. She rose up in a hurry upon retrieving her memories, only to look at the sun and feel the sadness she had buried in sleep yesterday creep up into her heart again. She hurriedly dressed, angrily wiping the tears from her cheeks and took the pack (minus one) of tarot cards, the one piece of wire and buttoned the coat loosely like a cape. She grabbed and yanked at the door handles. They came willingly, no longer locked.

She made her way down the hall, only to find that everywhere she went, it was empty. It was very late in the day…where was everyone? She pushed away the thought that they were in the town, seeing the execution… She clambered down the stairs and outside to the front, where Finny was sitting there.

"Ah! Good morning, Merianna!" He greeted.

She nodded to him before brushing past him. Suddenly, he took hold of her wrist.

"I can't let you go." He said in a dangerous tone. "Young Master told me not to let you pass."

She looked back at him. He held a serious face, eyes that struck dangerous threats at her and a grip that was unrelenting. In his other hand, which she didn't notice before, he held a pair of garden shears that glinted in the sun. The wind whipped at them, Merianna didn't move at all, analyzing his face.

"This is a game to him…isn't it?" Merianna whispered. "Chess…from the eyes of the Earl of Phantomhive."

"If you insist on going, I might have to fight you." Finny said, letting go of her wrist.

"King…Queen…Bishop…Knight…Rook."

Merianna felt a strong passion ignite inside her, a love of fighting. She never wondered she would want to fight someone, especially not her friends. But this wasn't a fight, her mind reasoned, it was a _challenge_. After all, pieces in chess are not killed, but rather, captured.

"I will fight you then, Finny."

"I won't go easy on you, Meri!" He replied, a small grin on his face.

She returned the smile.

"Risado sirscunus…"

_Do you understand me, Merianna?_

Finny cracked his knuckles, acknowledging her answer.

"Even without words, _Rian_." She whispered.

He brandished the shears and opened them before charging at Merianna.

_Do you want to strike, Merianna?_

"Even without dodging, _Rian._"

The Fool drew itself from the multitude of other cards and released itself to Merianna. It guaranteed her a hit or miss on her opponent. When it hit, it dealt the damage of multiple people, and when it missed, it slowed down her reaction time and she was open to any attack. It was simply an all out-offense with no regard at all for defense, 'as fools would fight'. For now, she had to fight using her fists, but The Fool relished in the memory of having a battle using a pipe.

The last act of gratitude was Finny pointing at a pile of gardener tools to the side.

Finnian had the first hit, finding one tip of the shear cutting into the middle of Merianna's arm. She didn't seem to react in pain at all. He was suddenly surprised when she moved deeper into the blade and swung a fist that collided to the side of his head before moving back. The blood flowed down her arm, but she didn't seem concerned with it. Finny cracked his neck, surprised at how much it hurt.

She ran to the stockpile of tools, looking down to analyze them. A rake, a hoe (GARDENING ONE, okay?), a couple hammers, a plow, various spades and shovels. She grabbed a sledgehammer, although with her petit strength, she had to drag it, its head still bumping on the ground.

"Meri! You can barely even lift that! It's much too heavy for you to swing around!" Finnian cried. "Don't choose that one if you want to be smart!"

It was perfect for The Fool then. She waited for him to come at her. Sure enough, Finny shrugged and came at her again with the hedge shears. How many hits would she get? How many chances? She tensed her muscles.

Merianna felt the heavy tool suddenly swing forward, success on her side this time. It connected to Finny's hips, knocking the wind out and cracking some ribs. Another success managed to collide with part of his shoulder, and a sickening crack was heard. The hedge clippers fell from his hands and Merianna brought the hammer down, mutilating it beyond use. However, she felt the 50% of the 'lose' factor activate, and felt a heavy hit on her stomach, sending her flying back several feet. She clenched her teeth to keep her screams inside before she collided into one of the trees on the property.

She looked around for any weapons, but she had let go of the heavy sledgehammer when she was hit. Finny landed in front of her out from the sky, just as she had the idea of grabbing several rocks, filling the front of her apron with them.

"You had a pretty good hit there, Meri…but now rocks? We aren't playing around, you know?"

She threw one, but it missed, flying several feet from him. She raised the second one and threw it. She didn't even need to gauge her power or aim. There was only the 50/50 chance she could rely on. Suddenly, one of her rocky projectiles hit Finny's knee, and he fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

"W-What?! How could that have…hurt so much?!"

Merianna took the chance to run up to him with the multitude of rocks in her apron and stood over him. Finnian's eyes lit up with understanding when she was standing over him. Unceremoniously, she let go of her apron as they started to fall on him. All of them were guaranteed hits. They fell at a speed that broke the laws of physics and they fell on him like a torrent of boulders, some crushing his bones and some causing craters where they bounced off. Finny yelled in pain as they crushed him, and was soon unable to move.

Merianna dismissed The Fool, regaining her ability to speak and of course, to feel pain.

"F-Finny!" She exclaimed. "I…I didn't hurt you…too much…have I?"

"Go, Merianna." He replied, lying in a pool of blood. "But everyone else is going to be harder than I was. I will live, I just can't move because…well…my bones aren't as strong as my muscles are…I think Meirin's waiting if you keep going down that road…"

Merianna used her sleeve to wipe some of the blood around Finny's eyes for him.

"D-Do I…have to…keep fighting?" she asked anxiously. "I…I don't like this…if people get killed…"

The pleading look for disapproval in her eyes almost broke his heart. He didn't know what to say to her, but she knew the answer already. Instead, he changed the topic of their conversation.

"Before you go…how did you do that…? I knew…something was strange about you…but what…how…?"

She hesitated, as if unsure if she should betray her secrets.

"I used to have friends…friends that no one else could see." She explained. "I thought them imaginary as I grew up, only they weren't. It was the tarot cards who were my company and they spoke to me. Only now we can work together because…because …I…"

She didn't continue, but Finny had understood enough. He nodded, which was a painful twitch more than a smooth gesture, and Merianna stood up to leave. She didn't take her eyes off of him for a while until he assured her that he would heal after a small break and return to the house.

Ciel Phantomhive waited near the gardens, all the way at the back of the house. His servants would lead Merianna on a merry goose-hunt around the house before her final opponent would await her. He took a sip of his tea before returning to the interesting novel he was reading. Sebastian, of course, served his raspberry pancakes with the usual introduction.

"Is she coming?" He asked

Sebastian nodded. "Yes, Young Master. She is hesitantly advancing. From Grell's reports, it looks like one of the cards has put her to sleep…healing her body and sleepwalking at the same time…"

"Make sure that Grell doesn't make himself seen."

"Yes, my lord."

"Children like to play games, and by this we can see the extent of her tarot cards. I wonder how she'd fare against you though…" Ciel murmured.

Sebastian sniffed. "You realize that she is not doing this because of _him_, right?"

He jerked his head towards Cuffs, who had his arms and legs bound by a metal pipe contoured around him and gagged with a handkerchief in his mouth. He returned the menacing glare.

"I don't think she realizes the severity of this…like a child playing a game, worrying that she will break her toys." He said quietly. "Exactly who is the child here, Young Master? You, who has the power and money to buy new 'toys' whenever he wants, or her, an angel who does not understand the fragility of the humans she plays with?"


	12. No Good-byes

_I shall let you go now, Merianna._

"T-Thank you, _Dris-Nafuru_." Merianna smiled.

Even before Merianna could fully come to conscience, something loud cracked the air and she felt a sudden heat at her cheek. She immediately placed a hand over it and looked behind her. A small bullet lay smoking where it hit the cobblestones; no doubt it was a warning shot. But where was Meirin? Merianna was now very far from the mansion, almost at the trees of the forest. Both were equally far away. Merianna looked around; trying to spot her, but it was futile.

Another shot brought Merianna down on her feet. Her knee burnt and a deep liquid was slowly making its way down to her feet. She could feel something small and foreign embedded between the bones and she shrieked in pain when she looked at the wound. Merianna remembered the time when Cuffs had stolen meat from a butcher, who gave chase after them. She remembered how she had tried to fight back and how scary the butcher was and how it hurt when he pulled her up by her hair and Cuffs being beaten by the butcher. She remembered how sharp the knife was slicing her skin and then crying out for someone to save her. She drew out one of the tarot cards, already knowing by touch which one was Temperance.

"Risado sirscunus, _Qatorza_! I need your help!"

A warm tingling grew in her toes as the vines in her body grew and slowly bloomed from her skin, producing crimson flowers with glittering petals. The sensation spread from her feet and grew upwards like a flower and by more and more, there were lilies, tulips, hydrangeas, azaleas and dandelion-like shapes bursting from underneath her translucent green skin. The process didn't hurt Merianna at all, but there was a faint feeling of it, like a wave of intoxication in which she seemed to feel detached and drowned away from the world. It was beautiful.

* * *

It was a horrifying sight to see Merianna mutate into a sort of flowing ground. Meirin wished she had followed her instinct to look away, or at least to put on her glasses to hide her vision, but snipers don't take their eyes off their targets. Meirin watched as Merianna reached inside her leg with vine-like fingers and drew out the bullet. She threw it away as far as she could. The next thing she did was to step on the grass.

Although Meirin didn't understand what her friend had become, she took this as a bad sign. She raised the next rifle closest to her and took aim at Merianna's arms, not wanting to injure much. Sebastian had arrived earlier to inform her that Merianna could regenerate as long as the wound wasn't fatal, but Meirin didn't have the heart to do it…or she had the heart not to do it…She didn't have the coldness to do it anymore.

The shot connected the moment Merianna finally stopped moving towards the trees. She saw Merianna wince as the bullet buried itself into her arm, but once again, she merely drew it out and threw the bullet away. Meirin grimaced, sure that the last shot would have more of an impact. Suddenly, Merianna turned around to face the mansion. It took her long enough to figure out the opposite direction on where the bullets were fired at…

The Merianna on the other side of the rifle was slowly getting smaller. Meirin looked again after clearing her thoughts, sliding her vision down to Merianna's feet. They were slowly intergrading into the grass. Meirin, in haste, shot Merianna's head by instinct, letting out a little gasp when Merianna winced again at the shot to her eye. She shrunk and held her hands to her face. What looked like blood fell, and vines slowly enclosed her body, still disappearing into the ground. Merianna's hands fell from her face, a blood-red and silver flower blooming from her right eye, just before she melted into the green of the lawn.

Meirin threw the rifle down to get a full view around her. Merianna would be anywhere now, and Meirin had to know. She used her hawk vision to scour the surrounding area, spinning on her heel. Meirin got to her feet and started pacing about the roof, heavy rifle in hand just in case she saw her, or that she needed something heavy as a melee weapon.

Nothing fatal, she repeated in her mind. Nothing fatal…Nothing fatal…Nothing fatal.

It took her a while to register a clanging noise that steadily grew louder. Meirin's panic grew as she held the gun up defensively. She lifted it to her cheek, but didn't take aim quite yet. Suddenly, a figure a clambering over the sides of the roof and caught Meirin's gaze. Merianna crawled onto the roof like a spider, using her hands and knees to swiftly propel her body forward. She cracked a smile, revealing not teeth, but thorns. Her eye sockets didn't hold eyeballs anymore, but a sort of sliming red texture. Whatever magic she was using, it terrified her.

"Blood…I want blood…to water the flowers…" she hissed.

While Meirin raised the gun to eye level and crouched down, she managed to notice that at Merianna's feet were ivy plants that were growing around the roof and latching her on. Prolonging the fight would decrease her chance of winning, Meirin realized, and she took quick aim at Merianna's chest, just above the heart. Merianna hissed, knocking over a stand of sniper rifles, just as Meirin pulled the trigger.

The force of the bullet knocked her back, and the plant-Merianna recoiled and screeched, in a frenzied compulsion to draw out the bullet.

"H-H-Humans! And your…your di-dirty metals!" she squawked.

Shakily, Meirin snatched another rifle and shot again at Merianna, who was trying to advance, but dug into every bullet in her body. Meirin kept shooting, grabbing and shooting again, consequently firing more and more bullets. Merianna replied with a horrible screech as she kept plucking them out of the holes in her body (this author also has a fear of holes). Suddenly, from every bullet hole in her body, a speckled red flower bud grew while Merianna pulled herself in, cringing in pain.

"_Munatit aiselffar_…! _Munatit aiselffar_!" she said in a pleading voice.

"W-What?" Meirin muttered, lowering the next gun.

Was it a plea for surrender in whatever language?

Suddenly, there was a sickening squishing and sloshing sound before the flower buds cracked opened. Each of them had a mouth with white shining thorn-teeth that were chomping and eager to feed. Merianna let out a piercing scream that scraped against Meirin's ears. The next thing Meirin couldn't stand was the stench that was released. It smelt like rusted blood from a decaying corpse till walking around. It smelt rotten as the sour waft of air invaded Meirin's senses and she had to cough and splutter before she could get used (somewhat to the smell).

Meirin fell to her knees, almost wanting to tear through her neck in order to get rid of the smell. She spluttered and vomited from the horrible stench and seemed to forget the taste of the fresh air she had always breathed in. More and more of the speckled flowers were bursting, although Merianna did nothing but cling to her body as they burst with a sickening sound.

Then they started to speak. The small flowers gnashing their teeth started adding in to the chaos with droning noise.

Some cried _Mun-atit! Mu-una-tii! Muna-tit!_

Others went _Aisel-far! A-ise-elffar! Ai-sel-fa-rrrr!_

Meirin clamped her hands over her ears, although it left her nose unprotected. She sat on her legs, trying to block everything out. The sensory overload was putting too much strain on her brain. The horrible smells, the horrible sounds of the flowers were just two. Now she felt a tingly sensation on her clothes. When she opened her eyes, Merianna was pulling her up on her feet by her collar, her face just inches away. The pupil on her one eye was white, sheer white, while the other eye had a flower growing from it, although this one stayed silent. The tingly feeling continued to course through Meirin's body, and when she looked down, there were small vines encircling her legs and leaves sprouting. If Meirin screamed, which she wanted to, the putrid air would invade her dying lungs.

Meirin opened her eyes again, although they were wet from her eyes trying to drive the stench off. Just in time to see a small paper _thing_ landing on the roof with a lit fuse on it, counting down to its explosion. Meirin threw herself off the roof, determined to at least get away from its blast radius. She rolled down the tiled side of the roof, but just before she threatened to roll off, something grabbed the back of her dress and held her. She felt herself being lifted off and held against a familiar chef coat.

The air around her suddenly heated up and a large blast erupted, certainly more pleasing on the ears than the chants of carnivorous plants. Bardroy landed skilfully on the lawn below, safe from the blast. The roof lit onto a large fire that disappeared as soon as it caught. Some debris started to fall, some still burning.

"Bardroy!"

He had a sort of black mask on his face. His breaths came out husky and his eyes were obscured by two glass eyeholes. He let her down and took off the mask by lifting it up and over from his head.

"Gas mask." He replied. "One of the few prototypes I got to hold onto. Still gotta replenish the lavender in it though."

Something suddenly shot out from the smoke with great wings, using them to slow their descent back to the earth. It was Merianna, quite bloodied and bruised, but no longer translucent green or covered in monstrous flowers. Blood was running from small holes all over her, as if she were rolled in a nail-studded barrel. She was panting heavily while glaring at them both. It was a sorry scene.

Before the battle could continue, Meirin raised her arm in the air.

"I cede, Merianna. Without my guns…I can't…fight you at all."

She lowered it and looked morosely at the bits of wood and metal that littered the yard. With her conclusion, she drew out her large rimmed glasses from inside her pinafore and replaced them back on her face. She bowed to Merianna.

"Well, Meri," she said in her usual jovial tone, "We will see you back at the house soon."

* * *

"So I see…you're pretty special, Snowy."

"…I suppose…that is a way to…say it…" she replied awkwardly.

"Let's make this quick." Bardroy grumbled. "I'll give you just enough time to take out one of your card thingies. Go at me with your full shot and I'll return it!"

Merianna took the news with shock, but nodded.

"Risado sirscunus,"

She drew out the High Priestess.

"_Du._"

In the first minute, the High Priestess gave her a strange sword, shaped like a cross. Bardroy dived and rolled into the bushes against the house.

In the second minute, Merianna felt her friend take hold of her hands and swing the sword in a circle like the hands of a clock. Merianna remembered when she used to pretend to be a knight from the fairy tales she read, waving a wooden stick against little bunnies and birdies curiously peeking in. _Anzu_ was there, guiding her and teaching her how to manoeuvre her body and arms- which led to Merianna's Ghost Walk ability.

In the following minutes, Merianna's arms were back in at 12 o' clock. Small crosses seemed to appear beside her, even behind her four wings. They were sharp and pointed at Bardroy, who had wheeled out a strange black machine, a ribbon of golden things flowing out of it and its nozzle pointed at her. She didn't like the look of it, as it was the same colour as cannons on pirate ships. (Machine gun, guys.) Bardroy gripped it by its handles, pulling down his goggles over his eyes.

"FIRE!" He screamed.

Bardroy slammed his foot down on the machine and Merianna swung the sword down. Bullets hit crosses in a volley and angry metal crashes drowned out every other sound. Bardroy continued firing, and so did Merianna. They stubbornly kept at it, cross upon cross and bullet upon bullet. Merianna could feel the heat from every shattering grow stronger and stronger, but she still held her ground. Although it was never stated, she felt that if she flinched, twitched or move her body even a little, her concentration would be flung off, so she kept her stance, kept her focus.

The blinding light was hurting her eyes, she raised the sword up to brace herself, and her body moved accordingly. She felt something hit her gut, and reeled back in pain. The crosses all disappeared from her broken concentration. A few more sharp bullets grazed her and before she was going to take more damage, she propelled her body up with her wings.

She still wasn't used to the wings, and only managed to lift herself up a few meters, slowly gliding back down into the dangerous path of the gun. _I need to stop that machine_, she thought. Bardroy stopped firing, yelling out at her, but she couldn't hear. He certainly seemed pissed off.

_Du, what should I do? _Merianna asked.

_Mi estrauda_….My sister.

She pulled out the card of Justice.

"_Risado sirscunis! Anzu! _You're my last chance!" She cried.

Merianna's chainmail and sword disappeared from her body. Long robes draped over her like the Seasons dressing Aphrodite.

_Niro ghetyr sima_…Keep up in the air.

Merianna pumped her wings again, but it hurt her stomach and she covered it to see blood on it. It was moving. Droplets of blood were falling…towards the sky. Merianna looked up, pumping her four awkward wings once more to keep her up. The droplets seemed to disappear, evaporated into the air. Merianna was starting to lose conscious. She thought it must have been the dark red contrasting against her skin that was making it seem so pale.

But it was her blood that was being taken. When there was enough, many sharp red needles appeared in the sky, beside Merianna. They were pointed and glistening at Bardroy down below. Without missing a beat, they were shot at an extremely fast speed right at him. _Anzu _wasn't sure if there were enough, but with Merianna's slowly ebbing conscious, she had to act quickly.

He let out a yell, covering himself and taking refuge under the heavy machine. When they stopped, he climbed out, a triumphant 'you missed me!' rising in his throat. The crimson needles saddened clacked open, revealing spines like a brush. A bolt of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, hitting one of the needles. They distributed the heat among each other, burning whatever was in their area. The machine caught fire and exploded; the man let out a scream of agony and was burned by the electricity.

When Merianna saw Bardroy fall to the ground, she too did the same. She fell flat on her back, dismissing the High Priestess with her thanks. Exhausted, she lay there staring at the cloudy sky. Not only was her body crushed, healed, broken up, and bleeding out, but her mind was strained more than she had ever handled.

"I…I don't think I can…do this…anymore…"

Her eyes started stinging, and her friends had appeared around her, looking down upon her with worry. She wondered if anyone else could see them, or was it just her clinging to her imaginary friend to escape loneliness? She grasped her stomach, it was hurting and burning. The bullets were probably still in her body, but she was too much in pain to call someone to help her.

"Jake is probably hanged by now…I can't move anymore…There's still Sebastian…I can't even lift myself up to fight him…not anyone…"

She sniffed and let the tears roll down while thinking of her friend. She coughed, choking up on her spit. She closed her eyes and cried.

"I can't see Jake anymore. He's gone to where everyone else is. And I'm still left here…"

_Ichiin…_Wait

One of her friends was talking to her. She couldn't even raise her hands to see which card was in her hand at the moment.

_Ikugo, lurisya-nie. Bakyeng nuken bongun._

He's still alive. At the back of the house.

Merianna recalled her favourite fairy tale of two brothers who went their separate ways, where their master had given them a sharp double edge knife. If one side of the blade were to rust, the other sibling would know that their brother was dead. If it were healthy, he was doing well. There was one card who reflected this tale.

_Xis_.

* * *

She was walking along the side of the house, hand leaning for support against the side. She may have been an angel, she may have a card that could heal her, but she did not have an endless sea of energy. Her stomach was bleeding and she could see the blue arteries snaking underneath her desperately pale skin. It felt like bugs were crawling over her skin, nipping and biting their fangs into her. She contemplated crawling the rest of the way, but that was only a last resort. Her clothes were heavy, drenched in blood. And she hated the feeling of her wet shoes squishing on the ground.

She fell, just before she could reach the corner. She shrieked when she fell on her stomach, feeling the burn of a foreign bullet inside her. She covered her mouth when she coughed, only to taste something bitter and metallic. Her vision was getting blurry, the pain was too much. She heard footsteps crunching grass. Something blue and black stood in front of her.

"Having trouble, Merianna?"

A hot wave of anger came over her.

"I can…do it, Ciel Phantomhive…" she gasped. "I know…what you think this of…I can do it…I'll beat the queen. I will promote…You didn't even…have to take…him…"

"You can't do anything in your state as it is." He replied.

She shook her head. Or more accurately, let it fall from side to side.

"You don't win…a game by…promotion…"

She coughed heavily, feeling spit and blood cover her mouth.

"You win by capturing …the…"

She grabbed Ciel's leg with her hand and with a last desperate surge, pulled and turned it so that he fell onto the ground with a grunt. She sat on his stomach, knocking the air out of him and grabbed his neck…but she was tired, exhausted and in pain so she missed and held his forehead. She pressed her nails on his temples to get a good grip.

She heard the sounds of rope being cut and quiet cursing in Jake's voice. She stayed still, glaring down at Ciel through the curtain of her dishevelled white hair.

"He's free now, Merianna. I command you to let go of me now. If you don't, I'll have Sebastian come over a-"

"You were there!" Merianna screamed. She lifted his head and brought it down again, lightly enough to not cause him pain, just a small bump.

"Ten years ago! I…I was put on that cross! You were there! I remembered…"

The memory grew gradually, starting when Merianna questioned the kindness of her mas-she meant Ciel. She couldn't think of him as anything else but Ciel Phantomhive, the child of only 14 years old. She shook Ciel's head again, not being able to control her shaky hands. The anger and hurt that swelled inside her gave her the strength to get up from her last battle and continue on to reclaim back what was hers.

"Every adult there…was calling me a witch…wishing me death and trying to murder me…! I remember being on that cross…wishing them all what they deserve…You were there! You were there!"

She wondered if it was blood coming down her cheeks or whether it were tears.

"I remember how you looked at me. A child…A child of an age younger than I looking up at me with the coldest gaze of them all. You said nothing! You did nothing! Even though you are so rich, even though you have so much power, you walked away! You did nothing to stop them and you turned your back!"

She lowered her voice.

"That's where I first saw you…the only time I ever saw someone with such sad eyes…I begged salvation for your soul…"

"Then why don't you kill me now?" Ciel asked monotonously. "You hate me so much after all I've done to you. Why don't you just kill me then?"

Merianna laughed. "I can't. Because I liked you too. Because I forgive you too. Because that's what angels do."

"Then why aren't you letting go…?" He asked, a slight uncertainty invading his voice.

"Because you don't understand my feelings."

She pulled her face close to his with a wicked shark smile on her face.

"Risado sirscunu-"

Quick as always, Sebastian grabbed Merianna and tossed her away, where she hit the grass and rolled. He helped Ciel get to his feet.

Merianna laughed. "It doesn't matter, Sebastian. The love of an angel binds stronger than any contract with a demon."

He narrowed his eyes. "Her angelic tendencies are in conflict with her human emotions, Young Master. Humans may be kind and forgiving, but angels don't react to rejection well. Merianna is a ticking bomb right now…"

She held a hand over her stomach.

"_Vaint. _Judgement."

Suddenly, Ciel started twisting and screaming in pain. He held his body close and trembled as he fell to the ground. Sebastian uttered a 'Master!' and fell to the ground beside him, trying to see what the matter was. Holes had formed on his torso, arms, legs and his head started bleeding. Sebastian whipped his head to where Merianna was standing, and she had more colour to her now. He guessed that her magic transferred whatever wounds she had to him.

"I will put an end to this, Master." He whispered.

The butler stood up and whipped out his knives. Just as he raised his hand to throw them, the young male whom he forgot in the background took Merianna's arm.

"Stop this, Merianna! Stop hurting him!"

She looked at him in surprise.

"Merianna, stop it! This isn't like you!"

He practically ripped the card out of her hands. She didn't try to snatch it back, as her gaze was still on him. Ciel's screaming dulled, enough so that he managed to push himself up onto his hands and knees, wiping the spit from his mouth. The black-haired ruffled male took out another tarot card and showed it right in front of Merianna. His street-accent was dropped in the disparity of the situation.

"Look! I'm still alive! You don't have to fight anyone anymore!"

The card he held up, _The Wheel of Fortune._

Beside her friend was a small dainty figure, _Dris_ looked sadly upon her with his one eye.

"Nanaku shibit, konykung…The child doesn't deserve this fate…" the imaginary girl whispered.

"…_maybe it was chance that I was drawn here…and fate that I stay…"_

It was her who said that phrase. She said it when Ciel asked her what he meant to her. She certainly chose the right card.

"You're right…" she whispered.

But suddenly she shoved him aside, grabbing The Wheel of Fortune in his hands too.

"He has been manipulated by _this demon_ from the very start! Sirscunus Risado! _Dris_!"

The small imaginary boy brushed his hair out of the way, revealing an empty eye socket. Long ago, he gave up this eye to the Fates to tempt them away from cutting his life short. In return, he became their servant, and the origin of this power. In her hands, Merianna held onto two worn, but sharp shears.

"Oya? You plan to fight me with such primitive weapons?" Sebastian taunted, his eyes flickering demonic colours.

Clearly, Sebastian had not understood the hidden potential of the small tools, but it was better off not telling him. Her wings remained inside of her body. Against such a strong opponent, it was better to sacrifice power for a smaller body. Her mind was focused on one thing: to cut the strings beside Sebastian. If she could just snip one off, Sebastian would suddenly lose a large portion of his life. If she could snip all them off, he would surely die, demon or not.

Even better was Kerei, the girl of one eye. Seeing the shears made her scream and suddenly transform into multiple void beings, invisible to human eyes. Her scream echoed around the estate, although Ciel and Jake had no idea where it was coming from. Sebastian noticed however, and launched a knife at the body, only for it to pass by her head.

Merianna waited. She watched while Kerei attempted to claw and latch onto Sebastian, who coolly but agitatedly moved away. He seemed uncertain of how to attack this being, and was doing all he could to distance himself away.

_Isanaid furisaw!…_Dance away, you fool.

Suddenly, Kerei caught Sebastian by the arm. He yanked it away but he stopped mid-motion as Kerei advanced more unto him, grabbing his hand and stepping into his toes, a mad smile on her face. All she wanted was her eye back, except that she needed the rest of the body too. Sebastian slowly lost his ability to move as Kerei inched into his being. He felt the discomfort of blending into another being, and finally the inability to even move his eyes.

Merianna advanced, snipping the shears eagerly. Here was the defective angel-human standing in front of a fully fledged adult demon, holding his fate in her hands. She savoured her victory while Sebastian tried to free himself. She could practically see the defeat in his eyes. But something stopped her. Her mind was clear, yet…

Her body fell, suffering from blood loss and damage that her angel part was still struggling to heal. Perhaps her rage had caused her to lose the purity and goodness that kept an angel alive. Kerei too, fell away from Sebastian, let go of her grip and disappeared, taking the fated shears away with her. Merianna didn't even realize what was happening before she crashed onto the earth.

"I….I failed…" she whispered.

She had been so ready to kill.

* * *

Merianna found herself somewhere. Ah yes, it was her home. Her bed was lumpy and warm as ever, piled with stuffed rabbits and bears. Her bookshelf towered next to her full of French fairy tales and fables. There was no questioning that this was her room in her house. Something was wrong though, she realized. Oh. She was suddenly in the living room.

What was the thing? There was something in the chimney that was beckoning her. Her mother used to warn her not to go near it or else the soot demons would take her up the chimney and into their spirit world. But today, inside the ashes and soot, lay something of a strange interest. Merianna held her position still, not trusting the sinister furnace. It was something like the instinctive pull to jump off a high ledge, but her conscious told her that it was dangerous.

A small box appeared, familiarly silver, oval and little pearls decorating it. No doubt that she had seen it before. It sat in stark contrast to the dirt in the fireplace, shining luminously. It seemed to smile at her and beg her to come near. What was it again? Surely it wasn't alive. Boxes don't show emotion and the certainly don't live among soot.

That's right. It had Merianna's halo in it!

Wait…how did she know that? She didn't recall ever opening it. How did she know?

Who told her? She recalled a voice telling her it had her halo in it. The container was shut tight. Without any restrictions anymore, Merianna quickly grabbed the box, but it stayed stuck to the inside of the chimney. She tried to yank her hand back, but suddenly her hand wash stuck clasped around it too. With a scream, she tried to rip her hand away, but the soot that lay around the container started to make its way up around her fingers and her hand. It crawled up along her skin, prickling and tingling her arm. She shrieked at it to stop.

* * *

Something was shaking underneath her and she could hear the clattering of objects as she opened her eyes.

"I told you, you don't _need_ to saw off an arm, Doc!"

She grabbed the sheets beside her instinctively. It wasn't that her arms were cut off then. Good. She tilted her head to the side. There was Bardroy there, fighting with a doctor who had a saw in his hands.

"Look! Look! She's all right now!" Another familiar voice cried.

Finney came into her vision and waved a hand in front of her face. Her eyes flinched at the sudden movement.

"See? I knew she'd make it out alive!" He said.

Merianna tried to lift herself up, only to find that she was bound to the bed by straps, a metal attachment circling her arm. She turned her head with a questioning look at Finny, but he only pointed to Bardroy struggling with the doctor. It looked like Bardroy had convinced him that no unnecessary amputation was needed, but he still insisted that he check up on Merianna. He excused himself for a while, presumably to put away the rusted-looking hacksaw.

"Hey, wait right there!" Bardroy yelled ferociously as he followed.

Merianna waited until they were gone until she pelted Finny with questions.

"Finny…! Finnian! How did…How did I get here? I thought…you were…and I kept going on…Where is everyone else?"

He looked down on her with eyes that hid an emotion he never showed before: deep worry, sadness, anxiety. She wished his smile was back to reply.

"Merianna…I don't know…I wish I could tell you. All I knew was that Master suddenly called us to take you into town to the hospital. You were really wounded, and we were all worried. I was scared, Meri…how did you end up so bloody and injured?"

He looked deeply into her eyes for an answer, but she quickly shifted her view to the leather straps bounding her. She was reminded of her failure, but didn't have the strength left to lash out. She apologized mentally to Finny for not wanting to answer his question.

"Oh, but we brought you something to eat!" he exclaimed, changing the subject.

He brought out an apple from a paper bag beside him and held it out to her.

"Finny…" She whispered. "Thank you…"

The look she gave him seemed to welcome a cold draft.

"But how do you expect me to eat it…?" she finished. (Silly Finny.)

He flustered in response, realizing the mistake. He glanced between her and the apple.

"I…I don't think we brought a knife…I would…let you out but…but the doctor said we shouldn't…!" He sputtered, blushing tremendously. "How am I supposed to cut it?!"

Merianna eyed the fresh fruit longingly. How long ago has it been since she'd eaten? Everything else seemed to have melted away…especially when Finny took a bite into the apple.

"F-F-Finny!" Merianna snapped.

He took the bit out of his mouth and offered it to her mouth.

"I-It's the only…way I can think of…at this moment…!" He retorted.

Merianna heart softened; of course he wasn't going to eat it in front of her. She accepted it gratefully, careful not to bite his fingers. She thanked him, and he replied with a big, bright smile. He continued to bite off pieces of the apple to feed her, and any awkwardness was quickly dispelled.

"Are your jaws getting…tired, Finny?" she asked.

He shook his head, but he stopped for a minute, looking dejectedly at the ground.

"Meri…can you promise…not to lash out at Sebastian anymore?"

Her eyes silently asked him to explain himself.

"Please…for me…He won't bother you anymore…so long as you keep working quietly. And this is probably the first time Master has ever re-hired someone…don't get yourself kicked out again…" He pleaded. "I'd…like…like…if you would…stay a while more…"


	13. Sadden Lies

"Now then…remember to…eat well…and if…there's…any more…problems…come back…" the doctor said monotonously. "Now…the nurse…will show you…out…"

The doctor was obviously sick from a sort of drug or alcohol, and Merianna quickly shuffled out. The hospital gown was ripped away from her and her green pack of cards, container and jacket tossed back to her. She had needed treatment for the wounds that she couldn't heal herself. Thankfully, the hospital-run, hence the quack doctors and run down clinic. But it was better than nothing at all. The servants had only visited her the day she woke up, leaving her to heal quietly afterwards. She had spent 3 days in their treatment, and she was glad to finally be released.

"Release" is a strong word. She was more or less hastily pushed out of the hospital doors, the next patient quickly taking up her place. The only problem was the she was completely barren except for Cuff's jacket. Thankfully it was adult-sized, or else she would have fainted from embarrassment. Merianna looked down at her bare feet that grew cold upon the shabby road. She'd better find home soon or at least get some clothes.

She didn't recognize this neighbourhood at all.

Fretting a bit, she clasped her hands together in front of her, trying to grasp the landmarks and streets around her. She could've opened up her wings, but she was too inexperienced with her wings to attempt to fly, and there was the risk of indecent exposure as well. She would have to walk. She past by a man and turned around to ask him for direction, but her voice caught in her throat and he was too far down the road already. She gave up and kept walking up the street. Surely she would come across someplace she would recognize.

* * *

"I hear your street skills are quite useful, Mr. Hawkins." Ciel Phantomhive praised.

"C'mon, yous can't be sayin' that to me." He scoffed, awkwardly scratching his head.

"So? Will you accept my proposal?" Ciel smirked. "This means that I will be your master as well"

Cuffs turned his head angrily to the side. "What ev's get yous offa my back."

"It's a deal then. Welcome to the Company. It'll be like a new life for you."

* * *

Merianna eventually found Stikes, who was once again roaming around the city. She wondered how he always popped up, disappeared and reappeared around. Nevertheless, she gave him a good rubdown and patted him affectionately. He seemed to have been okay, despite his owners abandoning him. In fact, he seemed to have gained a bit of weight. Merianna sighed and held Cuffs' jacket sleeve to his nose, asking him to lead her to him. He would know the streets here like it was the back of his hand. Stikes drew away immediately, but he looked up to Merianna, like he was trying to tell her something.

"Should I…follow you?" she whispered.

Of course, Stikes didn't answer. He didn't even have a proficient neck enough to nod yes or shake no. He started up along the path anyways, his claws clicking against the road. Merianna followed, although he was going back the way she came. It was already midday and she was sweating underneath the jacket. This part of the city was almost a ghost town, unlike where she was used to. Eventually, the hospital came back into view. She stopped and called out to Stikes.

But where did he go? Suddenly, a hand caught the sleeve of the jacket and pulled it up.

"Yes, as always, don't fits yous at all." Cuffs sneered, appearing out from nowhere.

"C-Cuffs…!"

"They sents me to pick yous up. Gotta go back to the mansion now."

"They...? Oh…You mean…oh…" she said in a quiet voice.

"But let's spend some time together…okay?"

Never had his voice been so soft and low. Merianna stared at him like something was wrong.

"I'm just tryin' ta correct my speech!" He hissed.

She kept her gaze.

"We should go… and get yous…clothes…"

She nodded, and felt her body getting smaller. Her feet hurt from walking (and back to the same exact place too!) and even though she was sweating, it soon became a cold sweat from the air around her. Cuffs took off his shoes and forced Merianna to wear them. This odd pair walked down the streets.

"Cuffs…I mean…Jake…Mr…Hawkins…" She muttered. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

His expression widened, and then softened again.

"I don't know." Came the simple reply.

They both knew how spiteful he was, and yet he was only following the crowd. They both knew how he was drawn into Merianna's sudden change of life, and how he changed it in return. Yet neither of them knew exactly why. Whilst Merianna was expecting a trip to the local dump site or charity neighbourhood, she was surprised when Cuffs opened the door to a dress parlour. She bit her lip. Even if both thieves were skilled, they wouldn't be able to pull _this _deal off.

She grew intensely anxious as Cuffs felt the different fabrics; no doubt some fetched a higher price than others. Her anxiety did not get better now that the store owner's eyes were affixed to the poor souls touching up her masterpieces. Her nose wrinkled every time they put their hands on something, although Merianna mostly ignored it.

"Choose…" Cuffs whispered.

Merianna looked at him with wide eyes. Not again…She would stop him this time.

"I can't let you do this." She whispered back.

"Just choose one yous like!"

"Why?!" she hissed.

"'Cause you'd look pretty instead o'-"

"**Can I help you?**"

The shopkeeper's voice was high-strung and forced, which made the two break their conversation. Merianna breathed a sigh of relief. It would be absolutely stupid if Cuffs made it like they were customers. He'd have much better luck pinning water to a tree if he wanted to get away with stealing a poofy dress.

"Hello…Madam. This girl is buying a dress today."

Merianna's heart sank and she couldn't help but raise her hand up to smack her own forehead. The overgrown sleeve that she had made it even more hilarious. The shopkeeper looked her up and down and then to Cuffs. Obviously they did not look like they had enough money to buy anything particularly fancy.

The woman directed the pair to another set. She explained that these ones were much simpler and cheaper (obviously she knew what was up), and required fewer measurements. In fact, the dress was fit to wear before they left shop. Although she was initially cold, the woman started to warm up to Merianna, suggesting various textures that would match her. Of course, she questioned the nature of Merianna's white hair. Merianna tried to hold her opinions in, but her eyes kept glancing to a thin and frilled gown, all of it a snowy, soft white.

"I think we can try on a few…see which ones you like." The shopkeeper decided.

She loaded a few onto her arm and ushered Merianna into the dressing room. Suddenly, Merianna understood Cuff's plot. While she was dressing, he could steal anything while the shopkeeper was busy with her.

"J-Jake! Don't do anything stupid!"

* * *

Merianna felt the various frills and plaits along the white dress she had her eyes on. In the mirror, it had fit her much more than she thought, although the shopkeeper frowned and had to make adjustments to accommodate her flat chest. She wondered if she could ask to borrow the dress, to wear it just for a day and return it. It felt like it blended in with her, and Merianna couldn't help but stare at the princess standing before the mirror.

The shopkeeper chatted while she was being fitted. She told Merianna that she had a daughter who she was reminded of- except that her daughter did not have white hair of course. The shopkeeper was putting the jacket of the set of Merianna when she asked her about herself.

"Is that young man there, your brother?" she asked.

Merianna replied with a small 'no', helping herself into the brocaded jacket.

"Oh~ A husband then? Your figure is perfect for children, dear."

Again, Merianna replied with a no. "He could be, but I don't see why." she replied monotonously.

The set also came with lace gloves, a delicate accessory, but Merianna put them on anyways. After putting on proper shoes, the shopkeeper helped her back to the front. Merianna followed, crawling out slowly and gathering her cards and container in her hands. She half-expected to see various police officers taking Cuffs away to jail or him not being there at all. Instead, he had a decorated red parasol in his hands, saying that he would like to buy it as well. Today was so full of surprises.

Merianna quietly stepped beside Cuffs, wondering what he was going to do when the transaction was being done. She would not be able to run in this dress, not only because it was difficult to run in a gown alone, but that she had developed a sort of friendship with the shop owner. She was surprised when Cuffs reached into his pocket and brought a stack of paper notes. Merianna had always heard of paper that the banks will pay for someone's purchase, but never saw them in her life.

"My deepest regrets, sir, but we don't accept bank notes."

Cuffs hastily put the bank notes back into his pocket and brought out an official-looking paper.

"Please send the bill towards this company then." He said coolly.

Merianna tried to peek at the other side of the paper, but the shop keeper took it and read it over.

"Very well sir, and would you like me to dispose of the large jacket?"

Merianna opened her mouth to protest burning such a memorable object, but Cuffs immediately said:

"No, Miss. Please go ahead and throw it away."

* * *

Merianna puffed her cheek while Cuffs opened the door to leave the shop. It wasn't until they were outside until she started talking.

"Why did you leave your jacket behind?" she snapped.

"I didns't need it anymore, Merianna."

She looked him up and down. Although she was sure that his clothes were as old as the overgrown jacket was, they were decent. Still, she wanted the memories of that jacket with them in some way.

"And where did you get all that money?!"

He didn't answer, except for a "Don't worry."

The pair walked on, until they were along the path of a park. Merianna insisted that she share the shade of the parasol with him, but he laughingly refused. Eventually, they took a break on a nearby bench. Merianna folded the parasol and laid it beside her, just for a moment. She laid her head back and looked up at the sky, feeling a bit sleepy.

A warm hand rested on hers. She jolted back and saw Cuffs' hands clasping her own, tightly, like she would disappear from him.

"Is…being an angel…tough?" he asked.

Today was strange indeed. Cuffs had reverted back to that soft, puny voice, yet his head turned facing straight.

"I wouldn't know how to live any other way. Is being fully human hard?"

"You get all these feelings sometimes…"

"Is that so?" she commented.

She leaned her head back again to feel the breeze against her forehead. Cuffs' grip tightened.

"What would you say if I loved you?"

She brought her head back up. "I'm not old enough to be a mother."

Cuffs broke into laughter, but Merianna didn't seem to understand.

"It doesn't mean you have to be a mother, silly girl!"

"It doesn't?"

From all she knew, princesses who fell in love with their princes always lived happily ever after, had many kids and usually had those kids stolen away or eaten. Cuffs' laughter died down.

"I guess that's one thing that is hard about being human…You look pretty today."

Merianna was unsure of how to react to all this. Her friend seemed to be sad, yet overjoyed at the smallest things today. He seemed desperate for something, but Merianna wasn't sure of what.

"What would you do if I kissed you then?"

She wasn't sure how to answer that. Was she supposed to return it? She didn't know what kisses were even for, unless they broke a curse on a magical person.

Cuffs sighed, "You don't know…do you…"

Merianna was unsure of what response he wanted. She just stayed silent. She didn't notice how close his face was to hers. When she met his eyes for a moment, there was something deep within them. She had seen it in Meirin's eyes when she remembered Allen, when Bardroy started to create his explosions, when Sebastian fought her and protected Ciel and now it was in Cuffs' eyes, staring straight into her. (She was sure there was even a fruit named after it)

Yet it was something that she couldn't reflect back.

"Merianna…you might not understand me, not here and not now…but…"

"Cuffs? What…?"

"You should call me Jake, now. I gave up that name when I…when I…uh…gaves away the jacket. I shouldn't be…Cuffs no more."

Merianna felt his heavy breath, lifting his bangs with her hand to peer into the mysterious eyes again.

"I guess…if anything, it's a human thing…this emotion we feel. Even…maybe if you even _never_ come to an understanding of it, you need to know…for a **fact**that I am in love with you, Merianna Carolce. And that fact will never change. Even if you are an angel, I will love you always."

He took her arms and pulled her into his chest, holding her tightly. Merianna was shocked at this statement, and didn't know how to react otherwise, other than a small gasp. She could feel his face cringing beside hers, and felt the pain in his beating heart.

"Jake…what is going on?" she asked in a small voice.

He was right in that she didn't understand, and somehow she knew that she wouldn't get an answer from him. She was getting crushed by his embrace, but somehow she was okay with it. When he finally withdrew, it looked like there was something in his eyes, but he wiped it away.

"I don't know why…Merianna…Why you like something like…such a low-life like me…If only you knew…how far apart we really are…"

Merianna tilted her head, standing and still holding his hands.

"I don't think I know either…but things like these…don't seem to need a reason to understand. Let's go."

* * *

Jake had paid a carriage to carry them all the way to the Phantomhive house, and it was already late-evening when they arrived at their destination. He paid the driver and helped Merianna down. Sebastian and Ciel were immediately there to greet them.

"You surely took your time bringing back my servant." Ciel remarked.

Merianna made sure to stay quiet, even though she glared at Sebastian.

"I ain't no delivery lad." He replied.

Ciel closed his eyes, unable to make a come back.

"Well, your job is done. I will see you tomorrow morning then. Merianna, you will find your things back in your room."

'Tomorrow it is."

Merianna noticed the frigid conversation that took place, but she was excited that Jake would be coming again tomorrow. Ciel and Sebastian took their leave and retreated back into the house. Merianna then turned to her friend excitedly, but she suddenly stopped when his eyes were shaking and shimmering.

"What's wrong, Jake?"

He said nothing, only leaning his forehead on her shoulder.

"Thank you for today. Be good."

He raised his head and kissed her on the forehead.

He turned away to leave. Merianna replied with a good night as well and watched as he climbed into the carriage and it set off into the night. Perhaps nothing was wrong after all. She returned back to the house, tiptoeing her way into her room. Indeed it was as it was before, and a new set of her uniform on the bed. She changed and got ready to go to sleep; making sure her new dress was stowed, folded neatly, into her dresser.

* * *

Merianna awoke extra early in order to brew tea for her Master. It was usually Sebastian's job, but she was in a good mood and decided to take his place without him knowing. She was sure that her tea set and tray were proper and on the cart before heading up to his room. He should be just waking up at this hour and she knocked before entering.

"Good morning~ Master Ciel…"

How was that. He was already up and dressed, standing with a cane near the windows. She stopped like time itself had frozen.

"Merianna. You're up early today." He said.

Spying the tea cart, he added. "And I've already had my morning tea."

Merianna was dejectedly backing out of the room before he stopped her. Ciel put something on the cart. It was a small rabbit plush.

"One of my company's products. You may have one."

Somehow, she took it as an apology from his cruelty ten years ago. He also handed a letter to her. It was sealed by the Phantomhive stamp and the envelope seemed fresh.

"You won't be needed for chores today…"

Merianna wanted to ask him about the letter, but he turned away, a sign for her to exit. She pushed the cart out of the room and mentally talked to the rabbit in front of her. Since she was free from chores today, perhaps Ciel was letting her spend another day with Jake. She decided that today, she would tell him all about the Phantomhive mansion and maybe he would like to visit more often. Perhaps she could even interest him in chess.

"I see you tried to upstage me today, Miss Carolce." Came a voice.

Sebastian, of course, was taunting her as he came from the other end of the hallway. She puffed her cheek but stayed silent. _Be good_, Jake had said. Finny too, advised her against causing more ruckus.

"I plan on being of service to the Master." She replied flawlessly.

"I hope you can read." Was all he said.

She watched him close the door behind him before staring at the envelope delivered to her. Surely he meant that? Of course Merianna could read. She shot a look at him before opening it.

Sebastian smiled, whether or not out of happiness or not, and entered the Master's chamber.

"That was unnecessary, Sebastian." Ciel scolded.

"She will find out one way or another. Why did you, if I may ask? Because you are jealous that he is another pure soul just like you, you send him away?"

Ciel frowned. "For one thing, Sebastian. You stated yourself that he is more tainted than me because of his thievery. I have no reason to be jealous of whether his soul tastes better than mine or not."

Outside, there was a sudden crash of porcelain and sobbing erupting. Merianna must have read Jake Hawkins' last letter to her.

"And the second is that he accepted it."

* * *

At dinner, the servants stayed at bay while their Master ate, ready to be called upon. Merianna had a bright red clouding her face, as well as a tired look on her. The servants made no comment, and dinner passed with a heavy silence. Right before everyone had gone to bed, Merianna was sitting in front of the fireplace next to the Bitter Rabbit plush, swinging the letter between her fingers lightly.

"Why didn't he take me…?" She asked the Bitter Rabbit.

"Why didn't he take me to go to Africa?" She repeated. "Why did he suddenly just leave me here? When will be the next time we meet again? He didn't say…good bye to me…"

She crunched the copy of the passenger information and the envelope containing it. She buried her head into her knees and unfurled her abnormal four wings to wrap them around herself.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be able to feel things like this…He said he loved me…"

_Xis _appeared, taking the body of the little plush. It stood up on its legs and patted Merianna's head, singing a lullaby.

"_When you wander _

_Ever closer to me in your heart _

_Is it revealing the changes _

_That are falling apart?_

_You are locking in_

_Your deepest feelings_

_That cause you crying_

_But you end up finding_

_Broken things_

_From where there were no good byes_

_And saddening lies."_

__**END**

* * *

_A/N - There will be a sequel to this story. I just didn't feel like pushing all the storyline and ideas into one story. If you liked this, please continue to look forward to A Smiling Angel 2 (I'm not so good with story titles)_**  
**


	14. Addadadaddedededenum Addendum Yeah

**0 **_**The Fool**_** (Rian)–** gives her half possibility of dealing extra damage, half possibility to receive damage. I just made this up after seeing how there's a slash across the zero. Haha silly author.

**1 **_**The Magician**_** (An) –** summons fiery Morning stars to rotate around her. If you've read Elfen Lied you know how badass Morning stars can be, especially when fired from a gun.

**2 **_**The High Priestess**_** (Du) –** Summons many light blades to volley-fire at the opponent. Inspired by Unlimited Blade Works, and archery in general.

**3 6 **_**The Lovers **_**(Xis)** – If one other person is holding a tarot card, she is able to sense whether they are alive or dead. Inspired from one of my favourite Grimm stories, _The Two Brothers_.

**7 **_**The Chariot**_** (Satu) –** Melds into two objects in her surrounding and becomes two battle sphinxes. When I thought of Chariot, I thought of the two horses or sphinxes drawing it. Of course, sphinxes look cooler.

**9 **_**The Hermit**_** (Nafuru) –** Forces living humans out of the vicinity, usually transported somewhere random in the area. Kinda self explanatory, you know? Hermit…leave me alone…get off my lawn…sort of deal.

**10 **_**The Wheel of Fortune**_** (Dris)** – The imaginary being Kerei is able to hold one person while Merianna cuts the 'life-strings' around them with the shears. Inspired from the Fates in mythology, and how the spinning wheel is the wheel of fortune and Kerei's (based off Keres, spirits of death) missing eye. You will see (haha) more on this later.

**11 **_**Justice **_**(Anzu) – **As she flies up into the air, the atmosphere soaked up her blood and forms it into sharp needles in the cold air while fling down at the enemy. Even if they miss, the open ends split open and when the lightning strikes one of them, they conduct the electricity around, shocking whatever is inside the enclosure.

**12 **_**The Hanged Man**_** (Deus) –** Nooses fall from the sky to hang her enemies, strangling them. First card I came up with. Inspired by a manga chapter by Itou Junji where balloons with your face came after you with nooses.

**14 **_**Temperence**_** (Quatorza) –** Incorporates her body with the flora around her, the rafflesia plants that grow on her are mouths that emit a stinking stench and demand blood to water themselves. Inspired by .flow and the plant-theme it had. Only it needed more death stench with a horror element.

**17 **_**The Star**_** (Dris-Satu) –** Gives her the knowledge of all written things around her. I just had to.

**18 **_**The Moon**_** (Dris-Vit) –** Offers her information from other minds including what spirits see in her surroundings. Something to contrast number 17.

**19 **_**The Sun**_** (Dris Nafuru) –** Heals her as she is put to sleep, accelerates her health regeneration. Also as passive as 17 and 18.

**20 **_**Judgement**_** (Vaint) –** Almost all her wounds are inflicted on someone else. This card is bad.

**Apples**apples**apples**APPLES_**apples**_**APPLES**_apples_

**Where did I come up with these weird card names?**

They're garbled up versions of the numbers in French. And Rian, which is garbled up Cantonese/Manderin.

**What about that stuff they talk in? What language is that?**

That I seriously just made up. I apologize if it accidentally translated into something bad about your mother in any language.

**What is 'risado sirscunus'? **

It's an anagram (nag a ram) for risus sardonicus, the sardonic smile. From my understanding, it's a symptom of an infectious disease or muscle spasms. I just thought it sounded cool.

**Where did you get inspiration for your character?**

Tumblr *cough* **Merianna **was supposed to be the contrast to Ciel (Her name have 'sea' and his name having 'sky) as a soft-hearted, tender character who cries a lot. Some of her habits come from me (scared of sunfish and holes, puffing you're your cheek when your annoyed…) But it was mostly trying to be what Ciel could have been.

**Do I sense Charles Dickens Works?**

**Jake Hawkins** was inspired by The Artful Dodger from Dickens' Oliver Twist. You know…Jack Dawkins…Jake Hawkins…overly large brown coat. Especially when he was played by Elijah Wood that one movie *swoons*.

His original street-name was going to be Shots, but nah. I didn't really want him handling gambling or guns. All I had in mind for him was to be the sort of antagonist who doesn't really want to be an antagonist and he's just ripped apart by Merianna's ignorance to feels.

**Oliva **was of course, Oliver. (Even with the handkerchief thing) while **Stikes** came from the adult Sikes. The gin from the story found its way into the gin-and-apple beverage they drink.

**Theme Song?**

I wrote most of this story while listening to Regina Spektor's _Two Birds_. C'mon. You seriously have to make the connection between that and Jake-Merianna.

My deviant account is emotions30

Please look that up for the pictures below.

Cover Page: #/d5plsae

Spoiler 2?: #/d5plrub

Jake Hawkins's Draft: #/d5plraj

Questioning Merianna: #/d5plr2w

Merianna's Draft 2: #/d5plpuk

Merianna's Draft 1: #/d5plpot

Spoiler 1?: #/d5ploy0

Spoiler 1 (drawn by darkironprincess17): #/d5plodq


End file.
